A 74-year-old local woman was seriously injured in a fall on a hiking trail and was evacuated on April 3 from a gorge upstream of the Elands River Mouth, Grootkrans, in a difficult and challenging rescue operation that saw an NSRI Oyster Bay rescue craft negotiating three- to four-metre sea swells in the dark, in light fog conditions, through the Elands River Mouth.
Lodewyk van Rensburg, NSRI Oyster Bay station commander, said at 15:20 on April 3, NSRI Oyster Bay, NSRI Storms River and NSRI Eerstrivier duty crews were activated following reports of a local woman seriously injured in a fall while hiking on a trail at Elands River, Grootkrans (between Eerstrivier and Storms River).
“With no cell phone reception at the incident site, a member of Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) had alerted Relay Ambulance Services and the alarm was raised,” said Van Rensburg.
Relay Ambulance Services, Eastern Cape Government Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and a rescue squad, members of NSRI Oyster Bay, NSRI Storms River and NSRI Eerstrivier and SANParks Tsitsikamma rangers were activated.
Van Rensburg said that an NSRI crewman and two EMS rescue paramedics, assisted by the local farmer, hiked from the nearest off-road roadway, negotiating a sheer cliff hiking trail, to reach the hiking party, with the injured woman, at the foot of a 400-metre sheer cliff face, in a gorge, on the banks of the Elands River, about half a kilometre upstream from the Elands River Mouth.
“The woman, in a serious condition, suffering serious injuries, was stabilised by the paramedics, but in fading light there was no way she would be able to be hiked out of the gorge,” said Van Rensburg.
Van Rensburg said that they then considered dispatching additional paramedics and rescue crew to stay with the patient on the scene overnight, medically treating her injuries and to then hike her out in the morning.
However, due to the serious injuries that had been sustained, Van Rensburg said that paramedics indicated that the patient would need to be evacuated to hospital as soon as possible.
Van Rensburg said that a helicopter rescue operation was investigated but was not available.
“In the rising tide and fading light, with the advantage of the tail end of the new moon spring tide, NSRI crew on the hilltop above the scene investigated options to get a rescue craft into the gorge through the Elands River Mouth,” said Van Rensburg.
“Video footage of the river mouth showing sea conditions was relayed to NSRI crew who were standing by at Skuitbaai, at Eerstrivier.”
Van Rensburg said that the NSRI Oyster Bay rescue craft Caltex Challenger was towed to Skuitbaai and was prepared to be launched while further video footage and maps of the area were investigated and scrutinised in preparation for the challenging rescue operation they faced.
Van Rensburg said that at 17:26 the NSRI Oyster Bay rescue craft Caltex Challenger was launched at the Skuitbaai launching site with an NSRI Oyster Bay coxswain and NSRI crew on board.
Van Rensburg said that Telkom Maritime Radio Services were alerted to the rescue operation in progress to assist with marine VHF radio communications since there was no cell phone signal at the scene in the gorge.
“On arrival at the Elands River Mouth, the NSRI coxswain negotiated the three- to four-metre breaking sea swells and managed to get the rescue craft in through the river mouth, in fading light and in light fog conditions, but they were then faced with a sandbank in the middle of the river,” said Van Rensburg.
“Timing the incoming tide and using an incoming wave to get the rescue craft over the sandbank safely, they were able to continue upstream through deeper water. On reaching the scene, the patient, secured into a stretcher, was transferred onto the rescue craft.”
Van Rensburg said that final preparations were made under the care of an EMS rescue paramedic who accompanied the rescue craft.
She said that with no daylight left, in pitch darkness and light fog conditions, the NSRI rescue crew used a spotlight to observe the wave actions towards the river mouth to gauge the sea’s mood.
Van Rensburg further said that while paramedics prepared and stabilised the patient, the spotlight was used to monitor incoming wave sets.
The rescue craft then navigated the sea swells, crossing the sandbank and negotiating three- to four-metre swells to reach deep water offshore of Grootkrans.
“Once safely in deeper water, they then began the 12-nautical-mile voyage back to Skuitbaai with the patient in the care of the EMS rescue paramedic,” said Van Rensburg.
“By this stage, additional NSRI crew had mustered at Skuitbaai, together with Relay ambulance services, an EMS ambulance and additional EMS crew, where lighting was set up to aid the rescue craft—on her arrival at Skuitbaai—to negotiate the L-shaped channel in between the rocky shoreline to get to the Skuitbaai launch and recovery site.”
Van Rensburg said that on arrival at Skuitbaai, using to best advantage the lighting that had been set up, and timing the incoming sea swells, now in the peak of the high tide, the rescue craft reached the shore safely.
Van Rensburg said that the patient, in a serious but stable condition, was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in the care of paramedics and she is reported to be recovering in hospital in the care of doctors and nurses.
Van Rensburg said that the rescue operation was completed at 21:52.
Van Rensburg further said that the EMS rescue paramedic and the NSRI crewman, who were on the scene, hiked back to their vehicles during the night.
Van Rensburg said that the hiking party, which they believe included family and friends of the injured woman, remained at the scene and waited for low tide to get through the Elands River to exit the hiking trail on the morning of April 4.
“All rescue services involved in this difficult and challenging rescue operation are commended for going above and beyond to execute the successful rescue,” said Van Rensburg.
