Rescue teams save stranded hikers on Table Mountain and prevent fire outbreak
Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) commends the professionalism and vigilance of rescue teams who, while ascending Platteklip Gorge to assist four stranded tourists on Tuesday night, noticed a fire below Tafelberg Road.
Image: Duncan Fraser/ WSAR
A late-night rescue operation on Table Mountain on Tuesday also led to the early detection of a potentially dangerous fire, after Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) teams spotted flames below Tafelberg Road while ascending Platteklip Gorge.
WSAR spokesperson David Nel said the fire was noticed while rescue teams were responding to reports of stranded hikers near the upper cable station after strong winds disrupted the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway service.
“The early detection allowed for a rapid response,” Nel said. Rangers from SANParks’ Table Mountain National Park were deployed and extinguished the fire before it could spread.
The rescue involved four international hikers — a 34-year-old from Britain and a 29-year-old from the United States, who had crossed the mountain from Kirstenbosch, as well as two Turkish hikers aged 27 and 29 who had approached from Kasteelspoort above Camps Bay. All were found safe but cold in a shelter near the upper cable station.
The hikers were provided with warm jackets and torches before being guided down the Platteklip Gorge trail. The operation concluded shortly after midnight, with all hikers and rescuers safely off the mountain by 12.15am on Wednesday.
Nel urged visitors to avoid any actions that could spark fires in sensitive mountain environments, warning that careless behaviour places lives, property and the natural environment at risk.
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Cape Argus