Cape Town - A stranded tourist and her local tour guide were airlifted to safety with the help of a drone which located them in a collaborative search and rescue team effort.
The pair got lost in steep and dangerous terrain while hiking along the India Venster trail on Table Mountain.
Western Cape Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) spokesperson David Nel said a drone from the Western Cape Department of Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Drone Unit was used to locate the pair after they called and realised it was longer safe to proceed.
The information received from the guide suggested a location on Cairn Buttress, high above Camps Bay.
On-scene rescue co-ordinator Tim Lundy said: “The drone found the patients within 10 minutes. We called the patients on their cellphone and had them tell us where the drone was relative to their position.
“Once we spotted them, the drone was able to provide valuable information about the terrain to the rescue team. They (the drone team) were also able to provide us with an exact GPS location for the patients.”
After considering the information provided by the drone, Lundy said a decision was made to use the Western Cape Department of Health EMS/Air Mercy Service (AMS) helicopter to rescue the hikers.
“Once we identified their location, it was most appropriate to send a helicopter as the time it would have taken to get other resources to them would have taken too long, the rescue team would have either had to hike there or manage to lower the patients from their standpoint,” Nel said.
AMS spokesperson Venessa Horn said: “We then hoisted the two patients from the mountain and then landed on the scene, where the rest of the rescue collaborators were based.”
Lundy said the drone was an enormous help to WSAR as they were able to locate patients faster, during the day and at night, and field members were better able to plan and implement rescues, based on the images and video received.
Nel added that WSAR was expecting to see an influx of tourists unfamiliar with the terrain over the coming months, and urged tourist channels to ensure that instead of reminding tourists to wear sun hats and sunblock, they needed to know who to call in an emergency.
WSAR encouraged the public to memorise and share their contact number, 021 937 0300.
