Dedicated teams of volunteers and professionals from Wilderness Search And Rescue and SANParks - Table Mountain National Park responded to Table Mountain after a visiting Dutch hiker fell and injured herself while nearing the top of the popular Platteklip Gorge hiking trail on Saturday afternoon.
Realising that the injured 26-year-old hiker was unable to proceed any further, passing hikers immediately called the emergency number – 021 937 0300.
Rescuer teams were ferried to the top of Table Mountain in the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway cable car, before swiftly making their way across the table and down to find the injured hiker.
On reaching the hiker, she was assessed and treated by Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness EMS paramedic, before being helping into a rescue stretcher.
In a carefully synchronised operation, a technical rope system was used to help the team of stretcher bearers by slowly hauling the stretchered patient up the steep trail, while they carefully carried her over the broken terrain and back to the upper cable station.
The team and patient were assisted down the mountain in the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway cable car.
She was carried to a waiting ambulance and driven to hospital.
The incident was concluded when everyone was safely down the mountain, shortly before 17h00.
According to David Nel, a spokesperson for Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR):
“Wilderness rescue is a team effort and we especially wish to thank the passing Good Samaritans for their assistance while carrying the injured hiker from the mountain. We’re blessed to have such beautiful wilderness spaces in the Western Cape, and honoured to have such a compassionate outdoor community, who so quickly mobilise to assist others. This compassion and dedication is what truly drives the spirit of volunteerism in wilderness rescue. We wish our visiting patient a speedy recovery," Nel said.