Earlier this afternoon, an elderly man has been rescued from the Drakensberg after slipping and falling .
The man was part of a group hiking in the Monks Cowl area of the Drakensberg. The man believed to be about 75 years old was walking on the path when it is believed that he slipped. This resulted in him falling and tumbling about 15-30m down a slope. He was injured and unable to walk. Members of the hiking party raised the alarm with EMS.
Two paramedics from our Bergville base and members from the Mountain Club of South African hiked up to the injured man. This while the Department of Health Air Ambulance was activated.
When the rescue party reached the injured man they found him in a stable condition and well cared for as several of the people he had been hiking with were medically qualified and at least one of them was a Doctor. They placed the man on a specialised rescue stretcher and prepared a landing zone for the helicopter.
The helicopter couldn’t land exactly where the patient was and the patient had to be carried a distance to the helicopter.
The patient was airlifted in a stable condition to a private hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
KZN Emergency Medical Services would like to wish the man a speedy recovery and we want to congratulate all the Emergency personal involved in the rescue.
For more information please contact:
Robert Mckenzie
Media Liaison Officer: Emergency Medical Services
