PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Four hikers had to be airlifted to safety after losing their way in the forest along the Harkerville coastline near Plettenberg Bay on Friday 29 January.

Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association (PBCPA) operations head Otto Olivier said one of its executive members, Wesley Andrew, alerted the team about the lost hikers just after 12:00. 

"They went out for a trail walk at about 05:00. They started at the Harkerville office to do the Perdekop trail, but went off the trail towards Sinclair. One of the hikers phoned her mother and informed her that they had become lost," Olivier said.

While responding, Olivier managed to contact one of the missing hikers and assisted her with downloading Life360, a GPS tracker app, on her phone. Through the app the PBCPA team could pinpoint the location of the lost hikers.

The team then sent out a drone to assess the situation and realised the hikers had run out of water and needed assistance swiftly.

Plettenberg Bay National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander Marc Rodgers escalated the rescue to Metro Search and Rescue.

While Metro Search and Rescue, along with the local police K9 unit and SANParks officials, tried to reach the lost hikers, the PBCPA's drone operator, Waldo Olivier, used his drone to deliver water to the hikers so they could rehydrate.

"Unfortunately the rescue by foot failed as the terrain was just too dangerous. Eden Search and Rescue then decided to activate its helicopter to airlift the hikers to safety," Olivier said.

Rescue teams responded to an alert about four hikers who got lost in the Harkerville area. 

All four hikers were airlifted to safety and did not require further assistance.

"A sincere thank you to all the role players involved. A special word of thanks goes to the four lost hikers who strictly followed the instructions and advice from the Eden rescuers. This resulted in a successful rescue."

Olivier urged hikers to always stay on the set hiking trails, pre-plan their route, know their capabilities, inform friends or relatives of their planned route and the estimated time it would take to complete, and always take extra water.

He also urged hikers to save local rescue organisations' numbers on their phones and download Life360.

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