The hiker was struggling to breathe because he was trapped between the rocks.
- A hiker was trapped in a “chimney” for 17 hours while lost in the Cederberg Mountains.
- I was so stuck that I could only take small breaths until a fellow hiker waved to passing climbers.
- According to rescuers, he could barely touch the rock below him with his toes.
A terrified hiker spent 17 hours wedged between rocks in the Western Cape, able to take only short breaths until help arrived, Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) said on Thursday.
WSAR said two hikers got lost near Nuwerust Farm in Cederberg and decided to try descending through a series of “chimneys,” known to mountaineers as narrow ramps, or crevices.
In scenes reminiscent of the movie. 127 hoursone of the hikers got stuck in a chimney Tuesday afternoon and was unable to get out.
“After a sleepless night locked in the narrow chimney, the men were able to flag down passing climbers, who alerted local emergency services,” the WSAR said in a statement after the rescue.
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The man could barely touch the rock below him with his toes, and his chest was so contracted by the surrounding rocks that he could only breathe briefly.
A rescue team flew to the scene in the Western Cape Health Department’s Air Mercy Service rescue helicopter. Once at the remote location, rescuers rappelled down to the hikers and constructed a system of technical ropes to help free the hiker. After being trapped for 17 hours, the hiker was released and transported to a ledge for medical attention and was later airlifted for further evaluation.
The hiker spent 17 hours stuck between rocks in a ‘chimney’.
Supplied Supplied/WSAR
Further afield, a 25-year-old man from Mpumalanga was injured after slipping and falling while descending Lion’s Head in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The emergency number was called and the WSAR team sprang into action. With a rescue helicopter hovering overhead, rescuers were flown to where the injured man was waiting. They assessed him, loaded him into the helicopter and took him to a landing site, from where an ambulance took him to the hospital.
Teams were also sent to help a hiker who injured his knee while descending from the Elephant’s Eye Cave above Silvermine in Cape Town.
WSAR spokesman David Nel urged hikers to be patient, stay on the trails and avoid the temptation to take shortcuts or pass other hikers.
The rescuers are volunteers from mountaineering clubs and government emergency services who completed additional training ahead of the festive season in anticipation of more people taking hikes at this time of year. Its volunteers also help in rescue operations in vehicle accidents in which patients are thrown down ravines or steep places during the impact.
The emergency rescue number is 021 937 0300, which should be saved on phones as part of pre-hike preparation.
