At around 3:27pm on Friday, 12 May, NSRI Knysna received a call from a parent reporting 14 hikers cut off by the rain-affected, high-flowing Lottering River on the Tsitsikamma hiking trail, on the north-eastern side of the Bloukrans River.
Following an expertly executed rescue operation and successful evacuation by multiple land and water rescue crews, all 14 hikers were escorted to safety.
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After receiving the call on Friday from a hiker’s parent, NSRI Knysna informed NSRI Oyster Bay and NSRI Storms River duty crews of the situation.
The 14 hikers, 9 women and 5 men, 12 of whom were university students, were unable to continue their journey to safety because of swollen, flooded rivers.
According to the NSRI’s report, it appeared that they had crossed the Lottering River in the morning.
When they arrived at the Elandsbos River, they discovered that it was swiftly flowing, and they were unable to cross it. They then returned to the Lottering River, which was also swollen at the time, and were unable to cross it, becoming trapped in the Rushes Pass Valley between the two rivers.
On Friday afternoon, Mountains to Sea (MTO) Forestry received information about the hiking party trapped between the two rivers. Plettenberg Bay First Responders and the NSRI Plettenberg Bay were notified.
On Friday late afternoon, NSRI Plettenberg Bay joined Plettenberg Bay First Responders and MTO rangers in an attempt to reach the hikers, but the Lottering River was well flooded and it was already dark, so the efforts were suspended for safety.
In the meantime, Lodewyk van Rensburg, NSRI Oyster Bay and NSRI Storms River station commanders, assisted by Ian Grey, NSRI Eastern Cape regional director, launched a joint operation on Saturday morning to assist in the rescue of the hikers, in collaboration with Storms River Police station, the Police Dive Unit, MTO Forestry commanders and Eastern Cape Government Health EMS, who prepared a rescue operation that was to begin at first light on Saturday.
NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty controller Laurent Eray remained in contact with the casualty hiking party throughout the night, informing them of the rescue operation that was in the planning stages.
The hikers, who were well-equipped, were told to stay put between the Lottering and Elandsbos Rivers and stay warm.
The NSRI commended them for organising themselves to communicate with Laurent Eray throughout the night. Every hour, they took turns standing guard and gathering firewood.
WhatsApp was used to communicate with the hikers at an elevated post nearby that had a cell signal above their makeshift campsite.
On Saturday morning, a Joint Operations Command Centre was established at the MTO Lottering Forestry Station, led by the Eastern Cape Government Health EMS and the SA Police Services in collaboration with NSRI Oyster Bay.
NSRI Oyster Bay, NSRI Storms River, NSRI Jeffreys Bay, MTO (Mountain to Sea) rangers, SA National Parks Tsitsikamma rangers, Eastern Cape Government Health EMS, the SA Police Services Storms River Police Station and SAPS Dive Unit, Plettenberg Bay First Responders, NSRI Plettenberg Bay and a Savannah Helicopters Squirrel helicopter (an MTO resource from George) reached the JOCC at Tsitsikamma Lottering Forestry Station during the early hours of Saturday morning.
The hikers had been alerted to prepare for their pending evacuation.
An NSRI Plettenberg Bay rescue vehicle and a private 4×4 vehicle were dispatched to the nearest dirt track, which is located near the Keurbos Hut. That rescue party hiked to the Keurbos hut with additional supplies.
Greg Johnson, NSRI Plettenberg Bay rescue swimmer Nathan Hart, EMS rescue paramedic Jaco Kotze and Plettenberg Bay First Responders medic James Stewart all assisted in reaching the hikers via the Savannah helicopter.
They found a landing zone among the fynbos about 800 metres from the hikers and landed before hiking to the casualties.
The EMS rescue paramedic and the NSRI rescue swimmer assessed the hikers’ medical conditions; three of them received treatment for mild smoke inhalation as a result of smoke from the fire that they had been huddling near throughout the night, but all were in good spirits.
An existing rope that crosses the Lottering River was tightened and inspected for safety before the NSRI rescue swimmer, Nathan Hart, and the EMS rescue paramedic, Jaco Kotze, used it to help the hikers cross the river in relays, one at a time, through chest-deep, swiftly flowing water.
They were brought to the Keurbos Hut, where they were met by the land crews and warmed up before hiking about 800 metres to the helicopter landing zone that had been established on the dirt track.
They were airlifted aboard the helicopter in three relays to the Lottering Forestry Station’s JOCC.
Some of the hikers’ parents were waiting for them at the Lottering Forestry Station as they were airlifted to the JOCC.
An EMS ambulance had been dispatched and was stationed at the JOCC, where EMS paramedics further medically assessed the hikers as they were landed by the helicopter, determining that they were all in good spirits and health.
They were then driven by private vehicles to Nature’s Valley, where they had begun their walk, and once there, no further assistance was required because everyone was safe and unharmed.
All teams involved were praised for their close cooperation and teamwork during the rescue evacuation operation.
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Picture: National Sea Rescue Institute