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A terrified hiker spent 17 hours wedged between rocks in the Western Cape, only able to take tiny breaths until help arrived, Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) said on Thursday.
WSAR said two hikers got lost near Nuwerust Farm in the Cederberg and decided to try a descent via a series of “chimneys”, known to mountaineers as narrow chutes or cracks.
In scenes reminiscent of the film 127 hours, one of the hikers got stuck in a chimney on Tuesday afternoon and could not get out.
“After a sleepless night constricted in the narrow chimney, the men were able to flag down passing rock climbers, who alerted the local emergency services,” WSAR said in a statement after the rescue.
The man could barely touch the rock below him with his toes, and his chest was so constricted by the rocks sandwiching him that he could only take short breaths.
A rescue team flew to the scene on the Western Cape Department of Health’s Air Mercy Service rescue helicopter. Once at the remote location, rescuers abseiled down to the hikers and built a technical rope system to help free the hiker. After being stuck for 17 hours, the hiker was freed and hauled up to a ledge for medical care and then flown out for further assessment.
Further afield, a 25-year-old man from Mpumalanga was injured after slipping and falling while descending Lion’s Head in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The emergency number was called, and the WSAR team sprang into action. With a rescue helicopter hovering overhead, rescuers were hoisted down to where the stricken man was waiting. He was assessed, hoisted into the helicopter and taken to a landing site, from where an ambulance took him to hospital.
Teams were also sent to help a hiker who injured his knee while descending Elephant’s Eye Cave above Silvermine in Cape Town.
WSAR spokesperson David Nel urged hikers to be patient, keep to the trails and avoid the temptation of taking shortcuts or overtaking other hikers.
The rescuers are volunteers drawn from mountaineering clubs and government emergency services who completed additional training before the festive season in anticipation of more people setting off on hikes at this time of the year. Their volunteers also help with rescue operations in vehicle accidents where patients are thrown down ravines or off steep places during impact.
The emergency rescue number is 021 937 0300, which should be saved to phones as part of pre-hike preparation.
Source News24
