Injured hiker rescued from Robberg Nature Reserve by NSRI Plettenberg Bay

NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew were activated following a request for medical assistance from a group of hikers reporting a female in their group suffering an injury and unable to continue on the walk.

John Bozman, NSRI Plettenberg Bay station Coxswain, said:

“At 14h03 on Saturday 17 October, NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew were activated following a request for medical assistance from a group of hikers. They reported that a woman in their group had been injured and was unable to continue walking.

They indicated that they were near the Fountain Shack on the Robberg Nature Reserve hiking trail.

Our duty crew responded to our Station 14 rescue base, and the NSRI rescue craft The Courtenay’s Rescuer and Rescue Ray were launched.

On arrival at the Wild Side of Robberg Nature Reserve, NSRI rescue swimmers and our NSRI station doctor, carrying medical equipment, were deployed into the water at The Point. They reached the shore and hiked to the nearby hiking party.

On reaching the scene, they began medical treatment on the 56-year-old woman from Johannesburg, whose injury prevented her from walking.

Our station doctor, assisted by our NSRI medics, stabilised the patient. Our rescue crew then helped move her to the shoreline, where we secured her in our floating stretcher, and our rescue swimmers floated her out to the waiting rescue craft.

The patient was taken safely on board and brought to our rescue base.

The rest of the hiking party hiked back to the car park without incident.

A Medlife ambulance had been activated and was standing by at our rescue base.

The patient, in a stable condition, was handed into the care of paramedics and transported to hospital by ambulance. She is expected to make a full recovery.

The rescue operation was completed at 15h48.”