Durban — A rope rescue system was required to rescue a man who had gone missing in the Shongweni area, west of Durban.
A multidisciplinary team went to the Shongweni area in the early hours of yesterday morning following reports of a missing person.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said that at 4.43am, Netcare 911 responded to a missing person’s report near the Giba Gorge.
Herbst said that reports indicated that a 30-year-old man had been missing since Tuesday morning.
“A search was conducted by the family and the man’s car was found in a remote area, with no sign of the missing person,” Herbst said.
He said emergency services were contacted to assist in efforts to locate the missing man in what was inhospitable terrain.
“Rescuers elected to use the N3 Shongweni Bridge as an access point to get to the nearest location where the man was suspected to be,” Herbst said.
He said that on the scene were Durban Metro Police search and rescue (SAR) and Start Rescue.
“A rope rescue system was assembled to lower a Netcare 911 Rescue technician and a Durban Metro Police SAR officer,” Herbst said.
“Once located, special retrieval equipment was sent down to package the patient who was found dehydrated and confused. He kept on losing consciousness.
“Once treated and safely secured, the patient was hauled up to an awaiting ambulance,” Herbst explained.
He said the patient required advanced life support intervention to stabilise him.
“The severely sick man was subsequently transported to a medical facility for the care he required,” Herbst said.
Start Rescue spokesperson, Warren Brauns, said yesterday morning at 1.50, Start Rescue was activated after reports of a missing person and where a search-and-rescue operation was possibly required.
He said that Start controllers informed Netcare 911 Rescue and SAPS of the incident and then started the internal missing person process while Start Rescue teams stood by to initiate a search pattern.
Brauns said that Start Rescue’s partner Netcare 911 ambulance and rescue were activated and the location was shared with the teams.
“Start Rescue and Netcare 911 rescue were dispatched to the N3 Shongweni Bridge as a carry-out with a basic rope system was required. Start Rescue teams managed to access the area where the patient was situated, by scrambling down a steep embankment,” Brauns said.
“The rescue was successfully completed, and the patient was safely brought back up out of the valley and handed over to Netcare 911 who transported the patient to a medical facility for further care.”
Daily News
