Durban - It took nine hours for emergency workers to rescue a 62-year-old man who fell during a hike in the Waterval Boven area in Mpumalanga on Saturday.
ER24 spokesperson, Ross Campbell, said the man slipped and fell while on a hike, fracturing his leg just above the ankle.
He said six ER24 paramedics and nine South African Search and Rescue Lowveld members along with three local hikers responded at 6pm.
“The initial hike to reach the injured man took two hours through some tough, steep terrain along mostly single track,” Campbell said.
“Once there, the team made an assessment - with a suspected ankle fracture the call was made to immobilise the patient and walk him out in a stokes basket with his lower leg in a splint and a vacuum mattress to keep his body from moving too much,” he said.
“With improvised rope pulleys and some serious manoeuvring the team managed to bring the patient down from the mountain by 3am on Sunday.”
Campbell said the patient who had suffered a fracture just above the ankle was transported to Mediclinic Nelspruit for further care.
In another incident, in April a 43-year-old woman who plunged 180 metres down Chapman’s Peak Drive in her car was taken to hospital after rescuers carried her back up to the road.
Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) said it was called to assist other rescue agencies after the woman landed over the edge of the road.
IOL