Mountain rescue.

Kylemore Pniel near Stellenbosch

On Sunday the 09th of December 2018 at 22h02 the Winelands Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) was activated by the Western Cape Emergency Medical Services (EMS) after a call for assistance was received

The caller explained that a group of adventure seekers who were abseiling down a known kloofing route in the Boland mountains above Pniel which is managed by Cape Nature, had become stranded when they could not complete their intended route before sunset.

After the Incident Commander made contact with the group, he was able to positively place their location high up in the Volstruiskloof above the Lanquedoc valley at Kylemore close to Pniel outside Stellenbosch. It was established that the group of three were uninjured and totally unprepared for a night out on the mountains. It was also learnt that the only working cellphone in their possession had just 8% battery life left.

A full WSAR standby alert was initiated while experienced crew were consulted regarding a possible plan of action. Our members who are very knowledgeable of this area, suggested that a night search and response would be too dangerous for any crew. This meant a 4 to 5 hour trek that would include walking, scrambling, climbing and abseiling to get to the stranded men. Dispatching a helicopter at that time was out of the question as well, so the patients were asked to sit tight until the next day.

The Air Mercy Service (AMS) Medical Rescue helicopter which is contracted to the Western Cape Department of Health had by this time been authorised to respond to the scene in the morning. By 06h30 Tuesday 10/12/2018, plans for an Incident Command post and a Landing Zone (LZ) to be set up at the Kylemore School sports field for the operation were well under way. Here our Rescue Mountaineers, 4×4 crew, communications team, an ambulance and other logistical support units had assembled, while awaiting the helicopter’s arrival.

In the meantime, it was learnt that one of the stranded men had developed stomach pains. Once the helicopter arrived, a briefing was held after which it took off towards the kloof to drop off two Rescue Climbers. The patients were quickly found and hoisted into the hovering helicopter, which safely delivered them to the LZ where they were attended to by our medical personnel.

Two of the men did not require any further attention, however, one of the patients had to be transported to a medical facility by ambulance for treatment regarding abdominal pains that he was experiencing. It was not known whether this was as a result of a pre existing condition or not.

We wish the gentleman a speedy recovery and we would also like to thank all the services who responded to lend assistance.

WSAR urges the public to please:-

be familiar with you intended route
have a minimum of six people in any kloofing adventure
carry more than one cellphone and power bank
make sure that you have emergency blankets in your first aid kit
carefully plan your outing so that you are able to finish your route before sunset