Grootkrans: Elderly Injured Female Hiker Evacuated

A 74 year old local lady seriously injured in a fall on a hiking trail has been evacuated from a gorge upstream of the Elands River Mouth, Grootkrans, Eastern Cape, in a difficult and challenging rescue operation that saw an NSRI Oyster Bay rescue craft negotiating 3 to 4 meter sea swells in the dark, in light fog conditions, through the Elands River Mouth.

Lodewyk van Rensburg, NSRI Oyster Bay station commander, said:

At 15h20, Thursday, 3 April, NSRI Oyster Bay, NSRI Storms River and NSRI Eerstrivier duty crews were activated following reports of a local 74 year old female seriously injured in a fall while hiking on a trail at Elands River, Grootkrans (between Eersterivier and Storms River).

With no cellphone reception at the incident site a member of MCSA (Mountain Club of South Africa) had alerted Relay ambulance services and the alarm was raised.

Relay ambulance services, EC Government Health EMS ambulance and a rescue squad, members of NSRI Oyster Bay, NSRI Storms River and NSRI Eersterivier and SANParks (SA National Parks) Tsitikamma rangers were activated.

An NSRI crewman and 2 EMS rescue paramedics, assisted by the local farmer, hiked from the nearest off-road roadway, negotiating a sheer cliff hiking trail, to reach the hiking party, with the injured lady, at the foot of a 400 meter sheer cliff face, in a gorge, on the banks of the Elands River, about half a kilometer upstream from the Elands River Mouth.

The lady, in a serious condition, suffering serious injuries, was stabilised by the paramedics, but in fading light there was no way she would be able to be hiked out of the gorge.

Considerations to dispatch additional paramedics and rescue crew to stay with the patient on the scene overnight and medically treating the lady for her injuries and to then hike her out in the morning were considered.

Due to the serious injuries that had been sustained paramedics indicated that she would need to be evacuated to hospital as soon as possible.

A helicopter rescue operation was investigated but was not available.

In the rising tide and fading light, with the advantage of the tail end of the new moon Spring tide, NSRI crew on the hill top above the scene investigated options to get a rescue craft into the gorge through the Elands River Mouth.
Video footage of the river mouth showing sea conditions were relayed to NSRI crew who were standing by at Skuitbaai, at Eerstervier.

The NSRI Oyster Bay rescue craft Caltex Challenger was towed to Skuitbaai and was prepared to be launched while further video footage and maps of the area were investigated and scrutinised in preparation for the challenging rescue operation they faced.

At 17h26 the NSRI Oyster Bay rescue craft Caltex Challenger was launched at the Skuitbaai launching site with an NSRI Oyster Bay coxswain and with NSRI crew onboard.

Telkom Maritime Radio Services were alerted to the rescue operation in progress to assist with marine VHF radio communications due to there being no cellphone signal at the scene in the gorge.

On arrival at the Elands River Mouth the NSRI coxswain negotiated the 3 to 4 meter breaking sea swells and managed to get the rescue craft in through the river mouth, in fading light and in light fog conditions, but they were then faced with a sand bank in the middle of the river.
Timing the incoming rising tide sea swells and negotiating the incoming sea swells – using an incoming wave to get the rescue craft over the sand bank safely, they were able to continue upstream through deeper water.

On reaching the scene the patient, secured into a stretcher, was transferred onto the rescue craft.

Final preparations were made and in the care of one of the EMS rescue paramedics, that accompanied the rescue craft, now with no daylight left, in the pitch dark, with light fog conditions, and after the NSRI rescue crew had used a spotlight to watch the wave actions (in the direction of the river mouth) to judge the mood of the sea, while the paramedics were preparing and stabilising the patient – then using the spotlight to monitor the incoming wave sets – the rescue craft negotiated the sea swells to again get over the sand bank and in the 3 to 4 meter sea swells to then get the rescue craft through the incoming wave sets to reach deep water offshore of Grootkrans. Once safely in deeper water they then began the 12 nautical mile voyage back to Skuitbaai with the patient in the care of the EMS rescue paramedic.

By this stage additional NSRI crew had mustered at Skuitbaai, together with Relay ambulance services, an EMS ambulance and additional EMS crew, where lighting was set up to aid the rescue craft – on her arrival at Skuitbaai – to negotiate the L-shaped channel in between the rocky shoreline to get to the Skuitbaai launch and recovery site.

On arrival at Skuitbaai, using to best advantage the lighting that had been set up, and timing the incoming sea swells, now in the peak of the high tide, the rescue craft reached the shore safely.

The patient, in a serious but stable condition, was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in the care of paramedics. She is reported to be recovering in hospital in the care of doctors and nurses.

The EMS rescue paramedic and the NSRI crewman, who had remained on the scene, hiked back to their vehicles during the night.

The hiking party, which we believe included family and friends of the inured lady, remained at the scene and waited for low tide to get through the Elands River to exit the hiking trail on Friday morning.

The rescue operation was completed at 21h52.

All rescue services involved in this difficult and challenging rescue operation are commended for going above and beyond to execute the successful rescue operation.