Table Mountain jumper rescued
 13/09/2007
Cape Town - A team of 30 rescued an injured base-jumper
off Table Mountain at 22:00 on Wednesday after an operation lasting
eight-and-a-half hours, said Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSR).
The 19-year-old hurt his back and ribs and sustained
other minor injuries when he plummeted 30 metres down Platteklip
Gorge at 14:00, said WSR head Dr John Roos, who also works for Cape
Metro emergency medical services.
He was taken to the Chris Barnard Memorial Hospital
where he was in a stable condition.
"I don't know why he was base-jumping from
where he was... It was not a clever thing for him to have done,"
said Roos.
He jumped from the top of Table Mountain, to the
left of Platteklip. "Something went wrong," he said.
He ended up unable to walk and trapped on a ledge
in the gorge, in an area inaccessible to the helicopters sent in
to try and airlift him out.
Strapped to stretcher
Instead, teams of technical rescuers climbed to
him, strapped him into a stretcher and hoisted him to the top of
the mountain, said Roos.
They carried him to the cable-car station - which
specially re-opened to help - and loaded him into a car which ferried
him to the ground.
He said that although the Red Cross rescue helicopter
could not get to him, it was able to send down an advance team,
which included a doctor.
As conditions deteriorated, an SA Air Force Oryx
helicopter was called in, but it too was unable to reach the jumper.
This made the operation "technical",
said Roos.
He said an initial team of about 16 rescuers was
bolstered with six more "sent in to do the more technical work".
The rest of the team manned a base station set
up on Table Mountain road to co-ordinate the operation. All of them
were volunteers.
Article from News24
<< Back
a page
Home |
Live Webcam | Cape
Town Guest Houses | Cape
Town Bed and Breakfast | Cape
Town Self Catering | Cape Town
Villas | Cape Town Resorts
| Cape Town Hotels | Cape
Town Backpackers | Cape
Town Country House | Cape
Town Tours | Car Rental Cape
Town | Cape Town Shuttle
Service | Cape Town
Motorcycle Hire | Cape
Town Planes & Trains | Cape
Town Taxi Services | Cape Town
4x4 Hire | Cape Town
Extreme Sports | Cape Town Surfing
| Cape Town Big Game Fishing
| Cape Town Cruising | Cape
Town Golf | Cape Town
Zoos and Sanctuaries | Cape
Town Restaurants | Cape Town
Nightlife | Cape Town Wine
Shops | Cape Town Property
| Cape Town Business | Cape
Town Cycling and Mountain Biking | Cape
Town Weather | Cape Town News
Copyright © Cape Town WebCam
Developed and maintained by Cape
Web Design |
