Johannesburg - Rescue operations are underway in Rustenburg to free a man who is trapped on the Magaliesburg mountains, rescuers said on Saturday.
“The man fell down into a gap between two boulders,” Mountain Club of SA Search and Rescue spokesman Dean van der Merwe said.
“It appears that while the man was falling, there was also a rock-fall at the same time causing his leg to be trapped.”
North West police spokeswoman Captain Pelonomi Makau said it was believed the man went up on the mountain on Friday.
While he was on top, he is said to have seen a snake. He then jumped and that was when he fell in between the boulders.
Rescue operations started on Friday evening but emergency personnel could only reach the injured man on Saturday, said Van der Merwe.
“The rescue team tried to access the man from 8pm on Friday, but the search was called off around 3am on Saturday. It was started again at first light and we were able to spot him around 7am,” said Van der Merwe.
He said rescuers were unable to move the rock in between the boulders and added that the terrain was making it very difficult for rescuers to get him out.
“Once freed, we will have to put him on a stretcher and haul him to safety before transporting him to a hospital,” he said.
Van der Merwe said the police's air wing had supplied a helicopter to assist in transporting people up and down the mountain.
The SA National Defence Force was also on standby to assist.
He said more teams were being called in to relieve the team that had been on the mountain for more than 24 hours. - Sapa