Durban - The body of a 58-year-old hiker who allegedly slipped and died while hiking at the Helderberg Reserve, has been handed over to police. Initially, the recovery was hampered by adverse weather conditions.
According to a spokesperson from the Wilderness Search and Rescue, shortly after 3pm on Saturday, an AMS helicopter contracted to the Department of Health was successful in hoisting out the body of the deceased patient from where he had fallen.
"The body has been handed to the SAPS's forensic department who now has to complete their investigation and report. We are not in a position to give out any further information as the unnatural death is being investigated by the police. We thank our teams for bringing closure to the family using a brief lift in the rain and low cloud," the spokesperson said.
The 58-year-old man’s body was discovered in the reserve during the early hours on Friday after his wife alerted the authorities when he failed to return.
“The man had set out to hike the Sugarbird Route and not returned by 4pm as he had arranged with his wife. By then rangers had already patrolled the route,” WSAR said.
WSAR had more than 17 operatives in the field on foot and where possible in 4x4s searching for the man into the small hours of Thursday night.
IOL