Durban Beach Rescue

Durban, South Africa is a hot spot for vacationers during the busy summer season. The season starts on high alert when senior lifeguard Sihle rescues a bather caught in a rip current.

High school graduates, or "ragers," spill onto Umhlanga Beach after partying all night. This beach is plagued by hidden rocks and strong rips - a disaster cocktail for party animals.

Senior lifeguard Luthuli and his "men of steel" work the Wedge, Durban's most dangerous beach. The shoreline has an unstable sand bank with dangerous holes on either side.

The Day of Reconciliation - the first big public holiday of the festive season - starts off damp and overcast. Undeterred, 150,000 vacationers flock to the beaches.

Tragedy unfolds at Westbrook Beach when lifeguards are unable to locate a missing man. The man will be deemed lost at sea if he isn't found soon, so senior lifeguard Ant takes charge.

Five bathers are bitten by an unknown sea creature at the Bay of Plenty, breaking the festive mood and creating a mass panic. Could this be a shark attack?

The fun and festivity of Christmas Day are put on hold after a mass blue bottle jellyfish attack. Lifeguards are forced to close Battery Beach and Country Club.

There's pandemonium at the Wedge when a flash rip sweeps 150 bathers - most of whom can't swim - off of the sand bank and into deep, treacherous water.

It's December 31 - a good day for lifeguard trainee Penny to face her fear of big waves. All eyes are on her as she paddles into some of the biggest waves of the season.

New Year's is the busiest day of the year in Durban. Crowds arrive in hopes that the sea, soft sand and sunshine will cure their hangovers. It's a day of frivolity and endless mishaps.