Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) responded to Tafelberg Road below Table Mountain after a 17-year-old hiker collapsed while hiking up Platteklip Gorge on Friday afternoon.
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According to the WSAR, a local family started their hike up the trail shortly before lunchtime. ‘After hiking roughly two-thirds up the route, the 17-year-old started to feel week and collapsed a short while later.’
‘Passing hikers stopped to assist the family and immediately called the emergency number when they were not able to wake her.’
A team was dispatched to the scene via the Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness EMS/ Air Mercy Service (AMS) rescue helicopter and hoisted down near the unconscious hiker.
‘She was assessed by a paramedic and treated for hypoglycaemia, a condition in which a person’s blood sugar (glucose) level is dangerously low.’
She was then placed on a rescue stretcher and hoisted up to the helicopter to be flown to a nearby landing zone and taken to hospital.
David Nel, a spokesperson for Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), urges wilderness enthusiasts to be extra careful when heading outdoors in light of the ongoing warm and dry conditions:
- Start your hike early and avoid hiking through the warmest hours of the day.
- Carry twice as much water as you think you’ll need.
- Stop every so often to rest and remember to have a bite to eat.
- Dress appropriately; wear a hat and closed shoes; and apply sunblock regularly.
- Remember to carry a warm layer just in case the weather changes.
- Always keep to the trails and make sure you’ve saved the emergency number (021) 937 0300 to your phones.
‘We would like to thank the City of Cape Town Traffic and Law Enforcement officers for their assistance and we wish our young patients a speedy recovery.’
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Picture: Fredy Mohorich / WSAR