MCSA Search & Rescue: Marloth Nature Reserve

On Monday, 14 August 2017, members of the MSAR, as part of a WSAR Western Cape team, assisted in the rescue of a Belgian tourist who had become lost while hiking in the Marloth Nature Reserve near Swellendam.

He had not followed any of the official trails and ended up trapped in a kloof on Monday afternoon. He was hiking alone, had not informed anyone of his plans, and no one knew when he was due to return.

Fortunately, he was able to alert CapeNature of his situation via cell phone. Rangers went looking for him and heard his shouts in a deep kloof, but were unable to reach him and requested assistance from rescue services.

A team of rescuers hiked up on Monday night and established voice contact. However, they couldn’t pinpoint his exact location because he did not have a headlamp to signal them. It was only at first light on Tuesday morning that two team members spotted him far below in the kloof. Thankfully, the Air Mercy Service (AMS) helicopter from George was able to access the steep-sided ravine. Guided by the ground team, they successfully extracted the hiker and transported him to hospital.

For more information, visit the MCSA Search and Rescue Facebook page.

Always plan your hike and follow basic safety principles. Image: MCSA Search and Rescue.

Source: MCSA Search and Rescue Facebook page