Table Mountain had a record number of rescue callouts in 2016 for hikers and tourists getting lost‚ dehydrated‚ injured or dying.Wilderness Search and Rescue‚ which co-ordinates rescues there and elsewhere in the Western Cape‚ recorded 175 incidents for the year versus 169 in 2015.Spokesman Johan Marais said on Friday that the three most common incidents that search and rescue teams responded to were people getting lost‚ injured or dehydrated — most of them tourists.Rescuers were sent on New Year’s day to help a dehydrated 46-year-old hiker from KwaZulu-Natal who was stranded on the Platteklip Gorge footpath.She was airlifted to safety by the Air Mercy Service rescue helicopter carrying a hoist operator‚ technical rescuer and an advanced life support paramedic. The helicopter landed in a nearby parking lot and an ambulance took her to hospital."The majority of people who report incidents are people from overseas; about 70% of our calls is to rescue a tourist. People underestimate Ta...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.