Dedicated teams of professionals and volunteers from Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) assisted the South African Police Service (SAPS) in recovering the body of a 58-year-old foreign tourist from Table Mountain in Cape Town, on Wednesday, 11 January 2023. A WSAR team numbering more than 20 personnel were transported to the top of Table Mountain with the assistance of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway. The team hiked across the top to an area near the Ledges route on Table Mountain’s eastern table.
Once on scene, WSAR members abseiled down to the fallen hiker and packaged him into a stretcher. Once secured, the team carefully raised the deceased to the top of a cliff.
The Western Cape Department of Health EMS/Air Mercy Service (AMS) rescue helicopter was tasked to assist with the recovery process and, once on the scene, hoisted the stretcher up into the helicopter. The body was flown to a nearby landing zone and handed over to the SAPS.
David Nel, a spokesperson for WSAR, said, “We would like to thank all members involved in the operation and we extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”
Photos: Brent Jennings, Brent Russel and Raphael Shaw