A 21-year-old man was rescued in the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday morning after falling 10m down a cliff, the Mountain Club of South Africa said.
A German exchange student at the University of Stellenbosch, the man was among a group of 32 hikers who had gone camping in the mountains on Wednesday afternoon, spokesperson Steve Cooke said.
”We received a call from one of the hikers’ mothers on Wednesday afternoon, but due to bad weather conditions, the South African Air Force chopper used by the emergency medical rescue services team could not make it to the scene.”
He said rescuers managed to reach the hikers shortly before 6am on Thursday. ”The hikers had a doctor amongst them who examined him overnight. They were also properly equipped with camping stuff, so it was not bad.”
Emergency services spokesperson Dr Thembisa Sitsila said the man sustained ”a suspected fractured foot and a severely bruised lower back”. He was taken to the Laverna hospital in Bergville.
She encouraged holiday makers or anyone camping in the mountains to report medical emergencies through the toll-free numbers 10177 or 0800 00 5133. ”All necessary medical response will be dispatched to assist anywhere in the province.” — Sapa