Three female tourists have survived shark-infested waters off Cape Town by breathing from air pockets under their capsized whale-watching boat.
The two British and one South African woman were among 38 tourists on board the small twin-hulled boat when a witness says it was hit by a wave and capsized off Hout Bay near the western city of Cape Town.
It has been reported that two men died - one Briton and one South African.
The three women survived underneath the boat for more than three hours.
Rescuers had to persuade the women to take off their life jackets so they could swim out from underneath the boat, The Telegraph reports.
The remaining survivors were plucked to safety within minutes as a number of other leisure craft were nearby.
Craig Lambinon of the National Sea Rescue Institute said there were 38 people onboard the charter boat Miroshga on Saturday, not 41 as previously assumed. At least 24 of the survivors were hospitalised with serious or minor injuries.
It remains unclear what caused the boat to capsize near Duiker Island, which is popular with tourists hoping to see seals. Lambinon said maritime officials in South Africa were already investigating.
Most of the people on the boat were foreign nationals.
3 News / AP