Durban - A 26-year-old Austrian had to be airlifted after slipping and suffering a serious injury at Sterkhorn’s peak in the northern Drakensberg.
The woman had been hiking with a group on Sunday when the incident occurred.
The Mountain Club of South Africa, South African Air Force 15 Squadron and the KZN Health Department’s Emergency Services teams came to her aid.
Gavin Raubenheimer, the Search and Rescue convener at the KZN branch of the Mountain Club of SA, said she had begun to descend Sterkhorn peak in the Monk’s Cowl area at about midday when she fell.
“She sustained a serious injury to her ankle and the group she was hiking with phoned the EMS control room in Pietermaritzburg,” he said.
An SAAF Agusta 109 helicopter was used to reach the injured hiker.
“The aircraft had to battle the effects of high altitude and clouds making for dangerous flying conditions,” Raubenheimer said.
The woman was flown to St Augustine’s Hospital, arriving at about 7pm.
An Austrian hiker suffered serious injury after slipping at Sterkhorn’s peak in the northern Drakensberg.
Daily News