PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Heroic efforts by several rescue workers and volunteers in difficult conditions led to the successful rescue of a severely injured angler between Nature’s Valley and the Storms River Mouth last week.
Rescue efforts included hiking to a near inaccessible area, rescue swimmers having to swim 200m to shore in rough sea conditions in the dark, rescue workers having to stay overnight with the injured man in the elements and ultimately a helicopter evacuation.
Plettenberg Bay National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander Marc Rodgers said they were alerted at about 16:30 on May 30, 2018 by Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) that a 41-year-old local fisherman had been injured after falling from rocks while fishing along the coastline on the Otter Trail half way between Nature’s Valley and the Storms River Mouth.
Rodgers said SANParks rangers hiked to the “barely accessible area” while WSAR, the NSRI, the Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) Garden Route division, the Western Cape government health emergency rescue services and ER24 services were placed on alert.
Rodgers said when rangers arrived on the scene, they confirmed that the best access to the injured man was from the sea.
“Our NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew launched the sea rescue craft Leonard Smith and Free Runner accompanied by an ER24 rescue paramedic and MCSA Garden Route division members,” Rodgers said.
He added that when they arrived, nightfall had already started to descend and there was no moonlight. “Sea conditions were rough with breaking rough surf along the barely accessible rocks.”
Two NSRI rescue swimmers, Bruce Noble and Wayne Craig, were taken as close to shore as possible, but had to swim ashore.
“Illuminating flares were used to assist to light up the scene to guide them swimming ashore along the jagged cliff shoreline and due to rough seas and the breaking surf we could only get them to 200 meters from the shoreline. They then swam the distance through rough 3m breaking surf to get to shore.”
The two men found the man seriously injured with a compound fractured tibula and fibula as well as an arm and head injury.
“Our rescue swimmers provided medical care to the patient who was stabilised. It was determined that in the rough seas a patient transfer to our sea rescue craft using our floating stretcher, due to the extent of the injuries, was not feasible.The WC Government Health EMS rescue squad and WSAR members were summoned and they hiked to the location from the land side.”
Rodgers said on arrival the paramedics took over medical care of the patient and two swimmers hiked out of the location with SANPark rangers. The sea rescue craft returned to base.
“The EMS rescue squad and the WSAR members set up camp and stayed with the patient during the night, continuing with medical care throughout the night, and the next morning.”
On May 31 the EMS/AMS Skymed rescue helicopter hoisted the patient into the helicopter and the patient has been airlifted to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
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