Johannesburg - A 57-year-old man lost control of his motorcycle while travelling in a remote part of the Okhahlamba Mountain range in KwaZulu-Natal and fell down the steep mountain, paramedics said.
The 57-year-old motorcyclist had been negotiating a stretch of rocky terrain on Saturday just before midday. The terrain where the man landed was quite rugged and could not be reached by conventional search and rescue methods.
Netcare911’s Shawn Herbst said they responded to reports of a fall at approximately 11.40 am.
A Netcare emergency care practitioner met up with the Okhahlamba Protection Services, rangers from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife as well as off-road motorcyclists at the furthest point accessible by a vehicle.
The team set out on a hiking trail, ascending the mountain using the GPS co-ordinates provided to them.
“The patient was located in the late afternoon and was stabilized on scene using advanced life support procedures,” Herbst said.
“He had sustained serious injuries and was treated on scene by a Netcare 911 emergency care practitioner.
“Due to the seriousness of his injuries a Netcare 911 helicopter ambulance was activated to provide rapid transportation to a specialist facility,” Herbst said.
In a separate incident, a man died and two other people were injured when a vehicle rolled on the M61 Springbok road in Kliprivier, Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon.
ER24’s Ineke van Huyssteen said when their paramedics arrived at the scene they found that one person had sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead by paramedics at the scene.
“Another patient was found to have sustained serious injuries, while the other patient had sustained moderate injuries.
The exact circumstances surrounding the incident were not known to our paramedics, she said.
IOL