Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) dispatched teams of professionals and volunteers to assist other agencies after a vehicle left the road on Chapman’s Peak Drive on Monday afternoon.
The only occupant of the vehicle, a 43-year-old woman, was driving towards Hout Bay from the lookout when her vehicle plunged 180 metres down a steep slope.
Thanks to the first-class rescue efforts of the dedicated teams of professionals and volunteers, she survived the accident.
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Team members from the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness – Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Life Healthcare and the NSRI were dispatched to the scene shortly after 2pm to assist in a multi-agency effort to rescue the driver.
A smaller medical and rescue team made their way down the steep terrain to the wreck, where they discovered the patient had been able to exit the vehicle but was unable to walk any further.
Before being placed on a stretcher, the patient was assessed and treated on the scene.
While the patient was being treated by the team below, the rescue teams on the road rigged a technical rope system that was anchored to one of the city’s Fire and Rescue vehicles.
The Western Cape Government-Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Drone Unit monitored and provided feedback on the rescue efforts below.
The patient was safely carried back up the road in a well-coordinated effort. Using the rope system, the team above slowly hauled the stretcher up to the road, while the team below carefully moved the stretcher through the dense vegetation and up the steep slope.
Once on the road, the patient was transferred to an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
The incident was concluded shortly after 4:30pm.
A spokesperson for Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), David Nel, said:
‘It’s inspiring to see such a large group of professionals and volunteers, from multiple services, working together in such a complicated environment.’
He added, ‘This was a demanding scenario made less difficult by having access to so many competent rescue specialists at one scene.’
Nel stated that working with the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness – Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Life Healthcare and the NSRI is always a pleasure.
‘We wish the patient a speedy recovery,’ Nel concluded.