(Photo: Wilderness Search and Rescue/ Facebook)
A 60-year-old hiker was rescued this week after a complicated rescue operation of six and a half hours on the Jonkershoek hiking trail near Stellenbosch after falling 40 m.
According to Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), the hiker fell at the second waterfall trail.
The hiker was part of a group that ventured on the popular route when he apparently stepped wrong, slipped and fell in the steep terrain along the way.
The other walkers who accompanied him immediately moved to an area where they could get a signal and call the emergency services.
A small rescue team, including a paramedic attached to the Western Cape Department of Health and Welfare, was taken to the scene by helicopter.
“Technical rescue teams set up a rope system to reach the injured hiker safely in the difficult terrain. After he was treated at the scene, the hiker was secured on a stretcher, taken back to the route and carefully carried to a suitable location from where he was taken by helicopter to a landing zone,” says WSAR.
The walker was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“The complex rescue operation, which involved air as well as ground-based resources, was concluded shortly before 17:30 on Thursday, approximately six and a half hours after the initial emergency call was received.”
The WSAR expressed its gratitude to the authorities who worked tirelessly together.
“We express our sincere thanks to everyone who gave their time, energy and expertise to bring an injured walker to safety.”