The body of a woman was retrieved during a complex technical rescue on Table Mountain on Wednesday, February 24. Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) requested the help of the Cape Town and Hottentots Holland Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) to help locate and retrieve the woman’s body.

The woman’s bag had been found on the mountain, and the teams were able to locate her within an hour.

“A helicopter extraction was not possible due to the overhanging vertical cliffs with large horizontal ledges as well as rope systems posing a hazard,” the Mountain Club said via Facebook. “A large team of 24 MCSA and WSAR volunteers rigged a multi-rope system where our patient and two rescuers could be hoisted 120 meters.”

Unfortunately, the woman had succumbed to her injuries sustained in her fall.

“We send our sincere and heartfelt condolences to her family and friends in this difficult time,” MCSA said.

Picture: Matthew Young/MCSA

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.