" I received a call out last night at 2150B from Mr Hannekom of the
Montague Ambulance Service. A light had been spotted in the mountains above
the town on the hospital side.
Analie and I met the SAPS and Mr Hannekom at the Bloupunt Hiking Trail
where one could get a good look for the light. We decided that nothing could
be done till first light, so we agreed to meet then.
At 0500B I met Dirk De Koker at the start of the New Assvoelsnes Hiking
trail. Dirk and his son Randell began walking the trail. After an hour of
walking they reached the highest point of the trail and still found no clues.
John Davids from Worcester also joined in the search for clues.
Mr Hannekom and the personnel from Montagu were not at all interested in
the proceedings, nor did they offer any support!
We managed to find out that the missing / distressed person was in
fact neither of the two. He was the son of one of the Montague Doctors, out
hiking by himself and had used the torch to light the trail. He made cell phone
contact and confirmed that we had nothing to worry about.
We all stood down at 0925B.
On leaving Montague via the Cogmans Kloof Pass, I spotted a man climbing up
a very dangerous section of the rock face, approx. 140 meters west of
'LegoLand'. I stopped and made contact with him through my P.A. System
and siren. He was looking for a dog that had fallen in the mountains and had
landed on a narrow ledge, but was unable to move, although the barking was
fine.
John Davids climbed up to the crest were the man, now identified as Mr Neil
Behrens of Montague, was.
Neil had heard the dog barking from about 0445B this morning, and thought
that it would be easy to climb up and just rescue the animal.
Decision time!
We contacted Dr Robertson of METRO Cape Town. He felt that if John wanted
to get volunteers from Montague to help him, he could go ahead and
"rescue " the dog.
We felt that this would be a dangerous pursuit and called Cape Nature
Conservation, but Piet Van Zyl told me that there was absolutely no man power
available to us, as all his personnel were at Doring River with the massive
veldt fire raging there.
We left John to work out a strategy as Dirk De Koker had to return to the
Robertson Ambulance Station, as he was the only one on duty at that time.
So far, no further feedback has been received. Will let you know once more
info received."
Later: Recieved a phone call from John
Davids saying that he was calling off the rescue of the dog, due to the lack
of enthusiasm from the METRO members.
Graham Macmillan, D 34
Top of Page
The 15TH of December saw the start of the holiday season and with it it's
holiday disasters.
I met Dirk De Koker, Robertson Ambulance in the morning at 1130B to
discuss our plans for the day and to evaluate a fire that had been
burning on the Jonas Kop mountains, above Agterkliphoogte.
I phoned Piet Van Zyl of Volikheid Nature Conservation and asked him
to assess the situation. He was up the mountain and told me that the fire was
burning in a northerly direction and that there was no immediate danger. We
were in fire condition Orange at the moment. I told him that I was on standby for
the SDR Fire Team.
I then proceeded to duty at a police/traffic road block at the Bonnievale
crossing in Robertson.
At 1830B a call came in for a motorist who had gone off the road just
outside Robertson on the Worcester R60. On arrival at the scene, it was
established that a Robertson motorist had misjudged his speed into a corner
and lost control of his vehicle. No injuries were sustained. It had gone off
the road and will be out of action this holiday period.
I was about to go home at 2030B when I received a call from Roy Veldsman:
Could I assist him at the fire in Die Hoek, the farm belonging to the Oakes?
On arrival at the farm, one store was ablaze, a tractor in the mountains
had been burnt out and the fire was ragging out of control all around Die
Hoek.
The fire had apparently been burning three days prior to this, and was
started near Genadendal by a 'Working for Water' team. One of their power
saws had caught alight and the worker threw it into the bush and ran away!
What happened here at the Oakes farm, was that the wind had changed
direction and the fire then took only 40 minutes to cover the 4.5 kilometer
distance from the fireline to the farmstead.
At approximately 2148B we stood down for the night, there being nothing
else that we could do but let the fire burn.
Graham Macmillan, D34
Top of Page
On Wednesday 29th November at about 20h00, Dave and myself went to
investigate a fire which we had noticed by the thick smoke coming over our
houses.
We found that the bush at the prison grounds was ablaze and the fire
brigade already hard at work. We observed for a short time and when things
started to look bad, inquired from the command coordinator if they would need
assistance. He indicated that they had been fighting the fire since early in
the afternoon and would gladly welcome Delta Search and Rescue's help.
Dave contacted 02 and put out the page and soon we had five 4x4 vehicles
and seven persons responding. Dave went to assist the one tender driver and I
remained at the fire control vehicle waiting for our team to arrive. Tygerberg
Control Officer gave me one of their radios so that we could be in
communications with them. The team arrived and almost immediately I was asked
to dispatch a vehicle (D25) to take two firemen around the back of the fire
for a reconnaissance. The rest of us stood by and watched for fires which
where flaring up as embers jumped across the road. I also dispatched another
vehicle (D24) to assist one of the paramedics on the other side of the fire.
Dave returned and was asked to recall D24 and D25. We assembled at the control
center to find out if we could help with anything else. D20, D22, D32 assisted
with passing some hoses over the fence and D20 dragged two long skid hoses
forty meters up the field. We where then asked if we would help roll up hoses
as the fire was now nearly under control and as the firemen retreat the hoses
could be rolled up ready for any further emergency.
At that same moment a call was received that a fire had started in
Richwood. We where asked to go and check on the state and report back while
they tried to dispatch a tender from Cape Town. We all left for the scene at
Richwood. On arriving we found a field which had already burnt. Dave
dispatched D50 to check further down the road and around the corner. At the
field we found embers still glowing in the thicker parts of the bush. We let
fire control know that the tender was not needed and that a skid would do. We
had spades with us and while Dave went to liaise with D50, we (D22, D25
and D33) used the spades to cover the embers with sand.
The skid arrived and was satisfied with what had been done and radioed
control that we had finished and where returning. We waited for the rest of
the team and then returned to the control point. The fire was under control
and we were thanked for our help and where then all stood down.
Denis Hayward,
D22
Top of Page
SUMMARY OF THE ACTUAL SEARCH
26TH October 2000
The subject’s wife made the initial call to the Hout Bay
SAPS.
The Hout Bay SAPS phoned Dr Robertson at home.
Dr Robertson phoned METRO Control and discussed the
incident with Lester Coelen.
A telephonic interview was conducted with the subject’s
wife and the following was determined;
 |
50yr old subject
|
|
Average fitness
|
|
No medical illness
|
|
Argument before left
|
|
Left at approx. 1500 hours in the afternoon
|
|
Intended destination was Klein Leeukoppie
|
|
Dressed in shorts, shirt, boots
|
|
Had not returned home by 2200 hrs
|
Metro 4 & MCSA Trailer dispatched to Kronenzicht
Estate at the SANP Boom.
CPNP notified via Kloof Nek Station
4 x 4 / DSAR notified and requested 5 off road
vehicles
MCSA notified and sent 6 searchers.
Lester Coelen appointed as manager.
Initial Search planning initiated to search;
|
Klein Leeu Koppie
|
|
Karbonkelberg traverse
|
|
Karbonkelberg tracks to Radar Station
|
|
Rocket Road and Wood Cutters Tracks
|
|
Path from Llundudno to Oudeschip Point
|
|
Search all local pubs in Hout Bay |
This was completed without success by 0500 in the morning
27th October 2000
Resources again requested to report to the NSRI Base in
Hout Bay including;
|
MCSA
|
|
Metro 4
|
|
High Angle Rescue 5
|
|
WP Mountain Club 1
|
|
4 x 4
|
|
DSAR
|
|
CPNP 3
|
|
Crysalis 11
|
|
Deon Van Der Merwe and Dog
|
|
Traffic Chopper
|
|
Skymed
|
Search planning and execution included;
MORNING
|
Search Klein Leeu Koppie again with helicopter
|
|
Search Klein Leeu Koppie again with 4 searchers and Dog
|
|
Search East Slopes of Klein Leeu Koppie with 6 searchers
|
|
Search from saddle up to Suther Peak
|
|
Search Saddle to Beach – 7 searchers
|
AFTERNOON
|
Search Rocket Road – Oudeschip and back to
beach
|
|
Search Suikerbossie corner with six searchers
|
|
Search Suikerbossie North of Llandudno Two searchers and
a dog
|
|
Search
with helicopter – whole area and part of back table mountain
|
SUMMARY OF A TELEPHONIC INTERVIEW WITH DAVE PLEDGER LOST ON KARBONKELBERG
HOUT BAY FROM THE 26TH TO 28TH OCTOBER 2000
Dave
started his walk in mid afternoon on the 26th of October.
He followed the gravel road to the
rocket station and then took the path at the level of the road following the
contour towards the wreck of the BOSS 400.
He lost track of time and realizing it
was getting late decided to head up the mountain and over into Hout Bay. He was
still in the amphitheater where the Moari and Boss 400 are wrecked.
It became dark and he realized he was
nowhere near the top of the mountain so he decided to head diagonally down to
the wreck of the Boss. In the dark he came to a cliff and decided that it was
too dangerous to continue so he lay down to sleep. He remembers seeing lights in
the area of the Boss that night but it was too far away to shout.
Early the next morning, Friday 27th,
he traversed around to the area above the Boss Wreck and then descended in the
gully under the trees. He remembers there being helicopter activity in the
vicinity. It took him all day from 0800 to 1500 hours to get down to the wreck
of the Boss travelling under dense vegetation. He saw some fishermen walking
towards Hout Bay (Seal Island) and decided that that was the shorter route to
follow. At this stage he saw a rubber boat at the Boss and whistled to them.
They responded but clearly did not interpret his whistles as being those of a
distress signal. A helicopter then flew straight over his head but paid him no
attention (not a search aircraft).
He made his way very slowly, because he
was extremely fatigued, to ‘Die Brako’, where he spent the night. In all
this time he had drunk a cup of water and eaten a few mussels from the sea.
The next morning, Saturday 28th,
he made his way towards the Harbour village and eventually to the Police
Station.
He saw a doctor the next day in Hout Bay
and was shown on blood test to be severely dehydrated apart from his obvious
scratches and wounds. He has been reasonably ill and is only now recovering from
his ordeal. His legs were swollen until a week ago. It is possible that he
suffered a degree of shock (heat exhaustion/stroke) with kidney failure.
He is grateful for our efforts and sent
a letter to the Argus. (Has anyone seen it?)
He will be in Cape Town in the next few
weeks and will make an effort to contact us again.
Top of Page
" I received a phone call from Dirk De Koker at 1647B. He had received a
call from Mrs. Stipp at Robertson Municipality to say that a group of six hikers
were lost on the emergency escape route on the DassiesHoek Hiking Trail near
Robertson. They had taken the trail due to an injury of one of the hikers
and had found that the road they were on ended in thick bush.
Dirk had already informed METRO Cape Town and Cape Nature Conservation at
Vrolikheid Nature Reserve. They would supply us with a vehicle to convey
the hikers back down the mountain.
I met Dirk and Jason Valentyn ( CNC ) at the " Laaitjie " on
the farm of Johan Marais. I managed to make cellphone contact with Irene
at 1735B, who had placed the call, gave her strict instructions not to move from
their position as we had almost respectable cellphone contact. The only location
/ landmark that she could give me was that on their left was a big rock and
they could see a big dam. They were clothed only in t-shirts, the wind was
very cold and they had no warm gear with them. They should have been back
at the hut at 1400B. The clouds were already closing in.
After using binoculars I managed to locate the hikers sitting on a
track high up on the mountain and nowhere near the hiking trail itself.
Between Dirk and myself, we decided the best solution would be to drive up past
the " Lapa " ( Bush Camp ) and then gain access to a new track that
would lead to the hikers.
At 1800B, after gaining permission from Johan Marais to drive on his land, Dirk
and Jason were sent on their way. The prior planning had paid off. ETA 50
minutes. This information was also relayed to Sarel Du Toit at METRO
Control in Cape Town and to Zero 2, the DELTA Search & Rescue Control Room
in Somerset West.
The hikers were reached at 1846B and this info was sent through to Zero 2 and
they in turn were asked to relay same to METRO Cape Town. METRO Worcester
also informed.
The hikers were back at the overnight hut at 1955B.
Everyone was stood down at 2000B
(Footnote:
The hikers had taken the emergency escape route as one of their party had
fallen and hurt their ankle. After taking what was supposed to be the
escape route, subsequently turned out to be a new 4x4 track that has recently
been made to serve as an additional scenic drive in preparation for the Klaas
Voogds 4X4 Challenge on the 7 / 8 October.
This road is going to cause more problems like this in the future, as it
looks like the escape route.
The Robertson Municipality has promised to look in to this problem on
Monday morning.
The 4X4 route up is in a worsening condition and, as we heard from many
farmers, they drive the route in 2 wheel drive! This is evident in the
very deep ruts, loose rock etc, that is made even more dangerous in times
of rain.
More 4X4 drivers need to be made aware that 4 wheel drive is there to make
driving easier, softer and kinder to the road surface.
Two wheel drive causes excessive wheel spin and erodes the road at an
alarming rate.)
Graham Macmillan, Delta 34
Top of Page
We were called out by Helderberg Fire at 14:00. A
paraglider had crashed on the mountains above Gordons Bay.
D15, D48 and myself responded to the scene, which was in
Rhust street roughly near the Traffic Department. The casualty had crashed near
the top of the mountain. Emergency services had by that time already
climbed up to the casualty and were assisting in putting him in a stretcher.
Ambustat, Western Cape Paramedics Services , SAP, Helderberg Fire Brigade and
local ambulance personnel were assisting the casualty.
We were requested to climb up to the casualty and assist
with hauling the stretcher. After grabbing all our necessary equipment we
began to climb up the mountain. It would take us about 45 minutes. At that
point one of the paramedics advised us to return to Rhust street to wait for the
Western Cape Paramedics helicopter to lift us to the top of the mountain.
After clearing an area for the chopper to land, we waited for it to arrive.
After 10 minutes the chopper arrived and lifted us up towards the casualty. The
helicopter was not equipped with a winch, and could therefor not recover the
casualty.
Once we had disembarked from the helicopter we had to walk
a short distance down towards the casualty. When we arrived, the patient  was
already in a stretcher. After a short discussion, it was decided that the best
thing to do would be to haul the stretcher further up the mountain to a more
suitable position for a chopper lift. D48 and myself climbed up about 100m and
secured an anchor for the stretcher. Once the anchor was secured, I climbed back
down to the casualty with the rope and secured it to the stretcher. A
couple of the ambulance and fire brigade personnel assisted D48 in hauling while
the rest of us carried the stretcher up towards the new position.
By now we had roughly 2 hours of daylight left. The
pilot from Western Cape Paramedics had arranged for CivAir”s Allouette
III to airlift the casualty to Milnerton Mediclinic. However, it could
only arrive within 45 minutes as they first had to fit it with a winch. We
had moved the casualty to a more or less flat position and then proceeded to
wait for the Helicopter.
The ambulance, SAP and fire personnel climbed to the top of
the mountain and then proceeded to one of their vehicles on the Steenbrass Jeep
track and returned to Rhust street. This left just D15, D48 , Deon from
Ambustat, the two WCPS paramedics and myself to remain with the casualty.
At 17:45 the helicopter arrived and carefully winched the
casualty to safety. The helicopter then  landed next to the WCPS helicopter on a
local sports field and transferred the casualty. The WCPS helicopter then flew 
the casualty to Milnerton Mediclinic.
The Allouette then returned and carefully put one wheel on
a large rock and picked up Deon and the two WCPS paramedics. 
After
dropping them off, the chopper returned to pick up D15, D48 and myself. We were
also dropped off on the field. The Helderberg Disaster Management Chief, Chris
Neethling, gave us a well deserved lift back up to Rhust street.
 The casualty suffered a broken leg and crushed kneecap.
I think he is lucky as it could have been worse.
Dylan Knott, D13.
Top of Page
The phone rang at 05:25. Five young boys missing on Constantiaberg and now
maybe in the Hout Bay valley. Assistance with comms required. Base at Tokai
Forest Station.
This was the message from Lance Michel, MCSA, coordinating the search since
the previous night. The SAPS had fielded a chopper with a search light and a K9 unit was busy tracking, and there were search teams in the field.
A group page elicited a response from nine members, with two responding a bit
later. ETA was set for 08:00 at the Base in Tokai.
When we arrived, we were briefed as to the current situation. Plans were made
and members were tasked. Just as they were to go mobile, a SAFCOL bakkie arrived
after finding the five missing kids on a Jeep track! They had spent the night on
the mountain and were none the worse for wear. We think they had actually
remained hidden when hearing the chopper during the night! Probably thought they
were in trouble (they probably are when they get home!)
Roy van Schoor, D15
Top of Page
I received a phone call from D15 at
18:00 informing me that Kobus Raath and another 4X4 were stuck on a section of
beach near Melkbos (just after Derde Steen). After phoning Zero Two for help, he
had managed to get himself free and back to the car park. The other 4x4 was,
however, still badly stuck.
After informing D22 of the call out we
left, proceeding up the N7 and then down to Melkbos. Four Km's outside Melkbos,
Kobus and his wife greeted us (their 8th Wedding Anniversary) and informed us of
the plight. A old model Colt 4x4 was stuck up to it's axles.
I enquired about tyre pressure and was
told that pressures had been let down to 1 bar. I told the driver that the
pressure could go down as far as 0.5 bar if necessary. On inspection, my gauge
revealed the pressure to be 1.5 bar. After letting the pressure down we would
have been able to drive the vehicle out if it had not been spun down to
the chassis.
A Hi-Lift would have worked to lift the
vehicle, fill in the holes and drive out. Jacking up the vehicle and pushing it
sideways off the jack and back onto flat sand would also have worked. I opted
for the winch, quicker in the cold, safer and less work. (Needed to get back for
supper!) The only delay in the winch operation was as usual - No Winch Point to
secure to! Out came the bark protector and a "D" shackle, and within
60 seconds, with Kobus piloting the vehicle and driving easily on the now soft
tyres, he joined everyone at the car park. After that we pumped up tyres and
exchanged business cards to cover costs with a "DONATION".
"It's ALL IN TYRE PRESSURES,
GUYS"
I would like to thank Kobus and his
wife for staying on and helping, although I said they could go. They had a baby
sitter and were booked in at the Hotel /lodge or what ever. In true Rescue dedication, they saw the whole thing through. I must admit I would have chosen
the warm Jacuzzi with that someone special. Congratulations to Madelein &
Kobus!
Thanks to Denis and Margret for helping
and being the second backup vehicle. Denis helped with the winch cable and the
clearing of the wheels for a quicker recovery, while Margret stood by on the
radio's to Zero two and ourselves.
Dave Georgeu, D20
Top of Page
This was a typical kloof rescue from the start. A group of
six had been kloofing in the Riviersonderend Gorge during the day. After a
number of jumps in reduced water conditions, one of the party hit a rock in the
water.
Gavin (D48) and myself responded to the situation at
Nuweberg Forest Station. Denis (D22) and Peter (D96) responded to Strand
Ambulance Station where they stood by. When we arrived we found that Mike
O'Keefe (M73) had flown in using the SKYMED chopper to get to the top of the
kloof.
We soon had CNC, Metro and MCSA personnel at the patient
who had broken his ankle and sustained unknown lower back injuries.
At the same time D48 was on the land line to Dr Robertson from Metro who was
attempting to obtain an air force chopper to do a lift out from the bottom of
the gorge. We had had very good comms to the bottom of the gorge, however a
dying battery on M73‘s radio put an end to that and we had to rely on a 2
stage relay via CNC to get messages out of the gorge!
The patient was eventually manhandled up out of the gorge
to higher ground as the temperature had started to drop rapidly and hypothermia
was starting to become a consideration.
An airlift at first light was organised by Metro. The
SKYMED chopper arrived just before seven the next morning and lifted out the
rescue party and then evacuated the injured to hospital. We all returned home
for breakfast and some well needed sleep.
Trevor Wyborn, D78
MEDIA REPORT:
Student
airlifted after kloofing mishap
April 10
2000 at 11:37AM
By Monde Dlakavu
A 25-year-old University of Cape Town student was airlifted to hospital after he
hit a submerged rock when jumping from a 14 metre cliff while kloofing in the
Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve.
Brett Human jumped in to a pool in Suicide Gorge and hit a rock, injuring his
ankle and lower back.
He was one of a group of students from UCT and the University of Stellenbosch
going through the gorge at the weekend.
After the accident, one of the students, Ben de Wet, hiked back to the reserve
office and raised the alarm. Reserve manager Leon Lourens said the students had
to sleep in the reserve while waiting for a Skymed chopper to airlift Human to
Vincent Pallotti hospital.
Hospital night supervisor Berilyne Jewell said Human was in a satisfactory
condition on Sunday night and responding well to treatment.
Lourens said the river through the gorge, the Riviersonderend, was low because
of the lack of rain, but the pools in the gorge were always deep.
"Suicide Gorge is always popular - everyday you find a group going through.
Some people jump down the drop and go straight, and others sometimes hit rocks
on the side."
Top of Page
We were called out by Piet Van der Merwe (D68). This was one of the best
callouts that I have ever been involved in from the attitude and moral point of
view. After the spate of fires in the Peninsula over the last few months, the
fire services now know how to react and bring a fire under control. The fire was
contained and brought under control in double quick time by very enthusiastic
NSRI volunteers and members of the public who knew that if they lost it would
mean disaster to many homes in the area.
The following responded D68, D69, D18, D20, D22, D96 & D78. We returned
home at about 03h00.
Trevor Wyborn, D78
Top of Page
I received a pager call-out on the 29 03 00, 2350B from Roy Van Schoor,
Principal Officer of the Off-Road Rescue Unit.
Mr Kalisa, of the Overberg
Metro Ambulance Service, had officially called us out. We were to aid in the
search for 3 missing police hikers who had been missing since Thursday the 23rd
in the Langeberg mountains near Swellendam in the Western Cape. We were to meet
at 0800B on Thursday 30 03 00 at the Marloth Nature reserve.
On arrival, we were briefed
as to the events of the last six days by the co-ordinating police officer,
Senior Superintendent Dion Hagen and by Captain
Alberts who was senior officer in charge of the whole rescue effort. The
ORU members present were Analie MacMillan, Bruce Noy and myself.
The three missing persons
were, Inspector Wynand du Toit ( 26 ), from the Public Order Unit in Kimberley,
Ms. Mandie Kennedy ( 18 ) from Springbok and Mr. Temba Oliphant ( 23 ) from
Thaba Nchu. They had gone missing when they separated from the main group of 15
others to take a shorter route the first hut at Boskloof. The rest of the group
never saw them again.
On Wednesday 29 03 00, the
police helicopter ZS - HUY, Captained by Superintendent Louis De Waal, was also
called in to help with the search. Inspector Johan Bender of the Cape Town K9
unit and his sniffer dog, Tiger, had also arrived to help in the search.
By the morning of the 30 03
00, there was no sign of the missing persons. Bruce Noy drove some of the MCSA
team members from Cape Town to Swellendam . The leader of the MCSA team was
Andre' Schoon, who with Andrew Lewis, stayed at the base. The “12 o' clock
Peak Team” MCSA members were: Andrew “Woody” Wood ( leader ), Morgan Beher,
John Van Belle and Paramedic Anthony Keen. The “10 o' clock Peak Team” MCSA
members were: Nic “ Moose” Good ( leader ), Larry Rogers, Mike De Wet and
Paramedic Shadley.
Analie took control of the
radio nets and operated the radios in the Disaster Control vehicle at the base.
Bruce drove the 10 o'clock Peak team into the mountains and I drove the 12
o'clock Peak team up to their drop-off point.
At the same time, Mr Kalisa
had sent off his METRO search teams to Goedgeloof hut. The Police SWAT team was
sent off to search their assigned areas.
At about 1155B, the 12
o'clock team had made voice contact with the missing hikers. They were all
alive, but Wynand had an ankle injury. They were sitting on a ledge at about
1300 meters elevation, and 300 meters from the summit, unable to move up nor
down, East nor West. The map grid ref. was 3358 2026. They were really stuck.
Once more the Police chopper tried in vain to perform a lift-off as the ground
was just too steep. The weather was closing in rapidly, so an Air force Alouette
was called in to assist. The Alo' arrived, captained by Johan Krigler, 2IC of
Ysterplaat Air force Base, Cape Town.
“Woody” had managed to
climb down to the hikers and reported that it would be too dangerous to do an
abseil or walkout. It would have to be a chopper lift. But, the weather had now
closed in, and they were sitting about 30 meters above the level of the clouds.
The choppers could do nothing else but wait to see if the clouds lifted. Three
storm fronts were moving in from Cape Town and it was beginning to rain back at
the base.
The teams from the SAPS, METRO and MCSA were recalled
to base, except “Woody’s” team who were with the hikers.
At this point we were no
longer required to transport any teams, so I stood Bruce down and Analie had
decided that the only comms now would be between Andre' and “Woody”, so we
too stood down at 1530B.
It would be a long cold,
wet night for the folk on the mountain but, they would have to see what the
weather held in store for them come Friday morning.
A big thank-you was extended to all personnel from the SAPS, Metro
Ambulance Service, Off-Road Rescue Unit, ZERO 2 and the MCSA.
Graham MacMillan, D34, signing off.
(The hikers and the rescue team were successfully
airlifted off the mountain the following morning during a break in the mist - Ed)
REPORT FROM THE CAPE TIMES:
Missing
hikers finally lifted out
March 31
2000 at 04:03PM
The three
hikers who went missing in the Langeberg mountains near Swellendam were finally
airlifted off a mountain ledge by a South African Airforce Alouette helicopter
shortly before 1pm on Friday - none the worse for their ordeal.
The hikers, Wynand du Toit, 26, a police inspector from Kimberley, Mandie
Kennedy, 18, a missionary worker from Springbok and Themba Oliphant, 26, of
Thaba N'chu, were found by members of the Mountain Club of South Africa on
Thursday.
However, they were forced to spend the night on the mountain because thick mist
prevented them from being airlifted to safety.
The trio went missing on Monday after they split from a group of 13 hikers on a
training and team-building exercise.
Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Deon Hagen said the cloud gave way and
the weather had cleared sufficiently for the helicopter to airlift them to
safety.
"Mentally and physically they are in good shape, apart from Du Toit who
injured his ankle," Hagen said.
"They are relieved to be back and enjoying a cup of coffee," Hagen
said.
Hagen thanked all those involved in the search including the mountain club,
staff from the Marlott nature reserve, the SAPS special task force and dog unit,
the Overberg Metro unit, the off-road rescue unit of
Somerset West and community members for their co-operation. - Sapa
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Again this was one of those rescues that had been going on for quite some
time when we were called to assist. A ±45 year old women had fallen in on the
path from Red Hat Crossing to the Boesmanskloof hut. She had broken her ankle
and sustained lower back injuries.
I picked up Dylan, D13 in Somerset West and proceeded to Nuweberg Forest
Station where we met Gavin, D48 who had come through from Grabouw. We left
Nuweberg and went through to Boesmanskloof Hut. At the hut we found a Metro bus
and one of the party who had walked out. D48 and D13 left along the trail at
about 23h30 to find the patient and the other rescue personnel.
After a 40 minute walk they arrived at the patient who needed to be
stabilized and then carried out. The problem was that the patient was extremely
heavy and due to the back injury needed to be carried very carefully. Three and
a half hours later the rescue teams returned to Boesmanskloof hut exhausted, as
the path is very narrow and it is only possible to carry with two on the
stretcher at any one time.
The injured party was removed to hospital and we returned home just before
06h00 on Sunday morning.
Trevor Wyborn, D78
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I received a pager call at 0736B from Zero 2. A vehicle was stuck on the beach
at Die Plaat and could not free it's self. I responded that I was available.
D13, Dylan Knott coordinated the callout. After careful consideration,
it was decided to deploy myself plus a passenger and D82, Dave Watling, as our
vehicles are fitted with winches and we have the necessary experience.
The scenario was that an Isuzu Frontier had been stuck on the beach
the whole night and the tide was due to come in at 1600B.
After driving for a very long time, we arrived in Stanford. D82 had in the
interim, introduced himself to the SAPS, as driving on Die Plaat now is a
definite No - No. He then decided to go and rescue the vehicle.
By the time I arrived on the scene, the vehicle had been towed onto the
hard.
I found the vehicle occupants and Dave waiting at the Grotto Bay cafe.
The said vehicle had indeed spent a night on the beach! They had become bogged
down in the wet area due to inexperience and the late time of night, 0300B.
While the driver of the vehicle was out inspecting the area, a rather large
wave swept over the vehicle and the inside was flooded. The electric's died
and they were well and truly stranded. They phoned the police at Hermanus for
assistance, but were laughed at. They then called Dr. John Roos of Cape Town
who suggested that they contact D15, Roy Van Schoor. Nothing could be
attempted at night, so the call was put out at first light.
D82 towed the vehicle to a garage in the industrial area of Hermanus. We
left the driver to sort out the repair of the vehicle and then headed off
home.
We stood down at 1300B
This is D34 Graham Macmillan - out.
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This was one of those callout’s that needed a large
amount of management on route to the situation. D82 and myself were busy setting
up the base for the Argus Cycle tour control at Green Point when the call came
in from Western Cape Paramedic Services. They needed assistance to get to a
patient who had been injured while dune riding in the dune field at Arniston.
We set off rather hastily to meet the WCPS ambulance at
Arniston. This is not a quick trip as Arniston is over 200 km from Cape Town. We
arrived to find the ambulance deserted at the side of the road except for two
locals who told us that we must go in both directions to find the crew. After a
trip into town we found the legal access point to the dune field where a
security guard let us in after we negotiated the right of access of rescue
vehicles. Assisted by a number of local children who “knew” where the people
were, we proceeded into the dunes as the light started to fade.
After about an hour of meandering along many strange tracks
we eventually saw the damaged vehicle and two other vehicles that had been
commandeered to take the medics to the injured party. Eventually we met up with
the other party and returned via the same route to the legal entrance.
During our dune ride we met up with the land owner who at
first was rather aggressive as to our presence but later turned out to be very
helpful and led us out via the shortest route back to the ambulance. It turns
out that the dune field at Arniston is in private hands and is in the process of
being proclaimed a nature reserve.
D82 and myself returned to Cape Town to continue the Argus
later that evening after having traveled almost 500km.
Trevor Wyborn, D78
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On
the 24 February 2000, I was in Epping 2 when I received a call from Tygerberg
control, to help with the fire at De Grendal along the Richwood side of the
boundary. I called the incident Commander, Willie Olivier, and told him I was in
peak traffic in Epping. Would he want me to respond and would he need further
response from our unit members? The answer I got was to use my lights and
sirens, get there as soon as possible to assess the situation and the need for
further unit members.
It
took me 7 minutes from Epping to the Richwood entrance where Willie was waiting
for me. My task was to take him to establish the head of the fire and where we
could send in the Caterpillars to create firebreaks. The sand was thick and the
Port Jackson and Wattle were thick and only a low four-wheel drive could get
through. A little nerve racking knowing that the fire was at times burning on
your doorstep. Not a time to get stuck, or to be indecisive.
After
establishing the head and four quadrants of the fire with firebreaks, it was
time to do some back burning. I was amazed that armed with a matchbox and
matches, how easy it was to light the grass and watch the fire spread. It was
really great to learn first hand from the professionals. At about 18h50 we felt
that the fire was under control and that we could leave the rest of the fire
management to the Farm staff.
Dave
Georgeu D20
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" I received a phone call from Dirk De Koker's wife Lillian at 2100B, on
Saturday night. Dirk was proceeding towards an MVA on the Barrydale Road
outside Montague where a vehicle had crashed down a 35 meter steep slope. No
information on the occupants was available at that time. Analie and myself
were to respond immediately.
On arrival at the scene, we immediately noted that the SAPS had not done any
crowd control and there were many onlookers on the actual scene. (This happens
all too often at accident scenes and makes for very dangerous situations
for both onlookers and rescue personnel.)
From what I could ascertain, a Toyota Hilux 4X4 single cab had been
transporting a stabbing victim to the hospital in Montague. Onboard were ten
people, 6 adults and 4 children. The bakkie was driven by the farmer's son.
The vehicle had lost control in the slippery wet conditions and plunged off a
35 meter drop into the river below. It had come to rest in knee-deep
mud, right way up. On meeting Dirk, we decided that we needed a safety rope
and a hauling rope. Analie and I used my vehicle as an anchor and set to work
to organise this. The condition of the patients ranged from green to yellow.
10 People were brought up to the road and 10 arrived at the hospital.
Thanks was extended by the families to all METRO, Off-Road Rescue Unit and
SAPS personnel, as well as onlookers who had helped at the scene.
We stood down at 2321B.
This is D-34 out."
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At the start of the fires on Friday the 18th, Dirk De Koker informed METRO. I
in-turn, got no response from the Vroljkheid Nature Reserve duty officer's cell
phone or the office number. The SAPS emergency operator was of no assistance at
all.
I then asked our municipality to inform our fire service.
At that stage the fire was fairly small. 1630B, I received a page from Dirk De Koker asking me to proceed to an area
approx. 4 km out of Robertson in the direction of Worcester to meet with Hermie
Visser of BreedeValley Disaster Management. On arrival, Hermie informed me that a chopper had been requested from
Grabouw. An Alouette was already ferrying firefighting teams into the
mountains. On the arrival of the Oryx, the water bucket was used with great
success in saving one of the threatened farms belonging to Mr Colin Tyler. Both
helicopters left at dusk, 1945B. On Saturday morning at 0800B, a body was found in the valley about 2km away
from the Gospel Express at VinkRivier Station. Dirk informed METRO of the find.
The skeleton was presumed to be that of a man, as a smokers pipe was found in a
shirt pocket. The SAPS were called in completed their investigations a half hour
later. This death was not related to the fire as the skeleton was just bones
which had lain in the veldt for approx. 6 months to a year!
The fire was extinguished during the night of the 19th by rain.
Photos: Graham
Macmillan
Graham, D34
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On
Tuesday at about 11hOO, I was in a meeting with members of Goodwood Fire &
Rescue at my place in Edgemead, when they received a call out to a fire in the
Tygerberg Nature Reserve (Welgemoed side). I decided that due to the terrain in
which the fire was to be fought, we would more than likely be needed, so I
pre-empted a call out to our members. As the call out was during working hours,
I felt that more warning would be necessary, but the response was poor. At 12h43
Willie Olivier called on the cell phone to initiate a call saying that about 2
vehicles would be needed at this stage.
Although
my work commitments were serious, I felt that we advertise that we will always
respond, and seeing as no one else had responded, I would have to go.
I
took the Welgemoed entrance side after following the Nature Reserve Signs, and
passed through the main gate and proceeded up to the SABC masts. Tygerberg’s
JOC and 5 Fire Tenders were there. The fire had already burnt a considerable
amount of bush and was working its way to the farm De Grendle.
A
huge problem arose when none of the tenders could get through due to a municipal
truck being parked in the only access pathway to the top of the mountain. After
about 6 minutes and being unable to locate the driver, (who had locked the
truck). I managed to successfully winch the truck clear of the path allowing the
tenders through.
At
this time B75, Frans Oescher arrived from his lunch break to help. My function
was to drive Willie Olivier to the head of the fire and to assess the condition
of the fire and the condition of the tracks to be able to get the fire tenders
and personnel in.
On
the Eastern side of the burn alongside the fence and houses, there were plenty
of fire hydrants, but it was a mission to get the hoses up the steep side of the
mountain and bush into the fire lines. We solved the problem by fastening the
hoses to the tow hitch and towing the hoses up the slopes. With water to the
fire, it was contained quickly.
My
thanks to Frans who gave up his time, to come and give us a hand.
Dave Georgeu D20
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" I received a call-out on Saturday 3/02/200 at 2015B by Dirk De
Koker. He had a report of two or three missing persons on the Dassieshoek trail.
I was to meet him at the Robertson Ambulance base.
Before I left home I informed Zero 2 as to the nature of the call-out
and said that I would contact them again once I had further information.
At the ambulance base, Dirk and I planned our course of action. We would
drive to Dassieshoek and do a visual search of the mountains from the road to
the overnight hut. Nearing the hut, we located the lights of the missing hikers.
They were still very high up in the mountains and off course. We elected to
drive to the farm of Mr. Johan Marais.
At the Marais farm we were met by Johan Marais and Johan De Wit. We
decided it would be a good idea to drive up to the first waterfall and
fetch the persons with my rescue vehicle and bring them down. Unfortunately
while driving up the mountain track, my vehicle slipped out of 4 wheel drive and
the left rear wheel drove off the side of the mountain. There was just a rock
holding the rear differential, the difference between life and death.
Dirk and Johan Marais went off in search of the missing hikers. They
found both of them in a state of inebriation and also doped up on wacky weed.
After they were safely deposited at the hut, Johan and Dirk returned with a
tractor to see if we could pull the vehicle back onto the jeep track. This
could not be done so we would wait for the morning and try again.
Sunday morning saw us retrieving the vehicle around noon. The rear bumper is
bent and moved 7 inches to the right and will have to be repaired. The price for
being a volunteer can be very high as no one pays for this service or the damage sustained
while carrying out this service. Thanks are extended to all who helped recover
my vehicle before it was too late.
We have since amended our SOP'S to rely more on getting other Off-Road Rescue
Unit members from out of the area to help with drivers for night driving
and ferrying of persons."
Graham Macmillan, D34
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Sunday, 16 January 2000
After having been up the West Coast and having to
make detours around the burning veld, we reached the Southern Suburbs to
see Silvermine ablaze. Then we knew - trouble was on the brew.
The local radio reports were not good about the spreading fire on
Silvermine and Chapman's Peak.
It was not long before our pagers went off and it was callout time. The rendezvous
point, Hout Bay Police Station. It was all stations go, and before we
knew it we were amidst a huge fire in Hout Bay. I could not believe
my eyes ...
We headed in the direction of the Police Station behind a fire tender! At
the Police Station there was no sign of any other members of the Unit.
We contacted Zero 2 and were informed that we were to meet at Kronendal
Primary. Here we were greeted by Max, D18 and some of the other
members.
Our first task was to move the gas bottles from the Chapman's Peak Hotel -
operation complete we moved our Base to the NSRI after having received
instructions from Metro. There we were met by Roy, D15. We then
proceeded to the white board where our planning started. Members were
dispatched to the NSRI's Statcomm to evacuate his house. We realised from
the other side of Hout Bay that the situation was very serious when we saw
the extent of the blaze.
Members were dispatched to assist with further evacuations in the vicinity.
At about 01h00 D20 was sent out to find out from Metro 4 what our further
instructions were. En route Dave, D20 tracked down Medic 2 (from
Metro) to establish from him where we could further assist. It was
here that Medic 2 instructed us that the situation was under control and
that the Unit could stand down. In the meantime, Ian, D38 and Piet,
D68 had been dispatched to Military Road to assist with evacuations.
The radioed back to Base that they had completed the 'mission' and were en
route back to Base. Next thing all hell broke loose when D68 observed
that the situation at Tierboskloof did not look very good. Then it
was all stations go - now there was a need for two vehicles and at
least eight members to assist the fire fighters with evacuations. D38
and D68 had reached Tierboskloof to find a tragedy in the making. Here the
flames were only 20 metres away from the closest house and only one fire
tender with a very tired and weary fire crew. It was all hands on
deck and D38 and D68 were in the thick of the fire! Due to members
having been given the instruction to stand down - many were already half
way home - D15, D96 and myself left the Base with two NSRI volunteers to
assist! We reached Tierboskloof in the middle of chaos! D15
left me to man the radios in his car and to keep a close watch on the
situation. Next thing the flames seemed to be getting closer and the
bits of burning debris falling around me! It was definitely time to move.
Peter, D96 and myself then moved to the entrance of the area in order to
ensure that those residents evacuating were able to leave the area without
further traffic hassles. It was amazing to see how many sightseers
were en route to watch the chaos unfold. They were stopped by D96 and
requested to move out of the area. It was here that I realised how
much damage this fire had caused and was still causing! We had
residents in the area below Tierboskloof already packed and ready to leave.
After many hours in the area, the fire seemed to have been contained and we
were told that we could finally stand down. We headed back towards
NSRI Base for a cup of well deserved coffee and some food. The local Spar
owner had brought to the NSRI Base platters of eats and coffee and fresh
milk. We stood on the balcony of the NSRI and watch how the fire was
pulling across the mountain towards the local squatter camp and
Bokkemanskloof. We eventually left the NSRI at about 05h30.
Monday, 17 January 2000
After a long day with very little sleep the situation in
Hout Bay had deteriorated. At 21h30 our pagers went off and the
rendezvous point this time was Constantia Nek. Ian, D38, myself and
Anthony, C30 were the first to arrive as we live in close proximity to Hout
Bay.
Here we awaited the arrival of the rest of the Unit that had responded to
the page.
Before long we were all there and ready to head once again to Kronendal
Primary School. Here we were met by Piet, D68 and Ingrid, D69 and of
course Dave, D20 and Dennis, D22 and Margret. The team was very much
bigger and ready to assist the fire fighters again. D20 and I set up Base
and checked radio comms with Zero 2. All was in order and we were
ready to go!!!
Our first team was dispatched to Blue Valley Road where the situation was
again red alert. Residents were evacuating and the ORU team was
dispatched to assist the fire fighters and evacuation. We set up comms with
D38 at Blue Valley and all comms were fed via D38 back to Base. There
were some really hair raising incidents in Blue Valley Road, one that
springs to mind is the bit about the bees. D38 radioed into Base to
inform us that they needed a beekeeper urgently as they had established
from residents that there were eight hives. With the bellowing smoke, the
bees were bound to get very irate one could only imagine the result. So
off I ran to Metro 4, Metro's Comms Vehicle to inform them of the
situation. D38 then confirmed shortly thereafter that the beekeeper had
arrived and the situation was under control.
In the meantime Metro had requested that we send out members to Slangkop
where there was a crisis on the brew. Pierre, D81 and Carl, D79 were
dispatched to Slangkop. Here we managed to keep comms with them on
TAC 2. In that area comms are not usually very good so it was touch
and go that we would be able to keep in contact. But all was in order
there.
During all of this there was once again a threat that the squatter camp may
need to be evacuated in Hout Bay - this would be a major problem and it was
the number one priority to ensure that the fire was kept under control in
that area. We did however have one group of evacuated squatters on
the field that were later taken back to their homes. Thank goodness
they managed to control the fire - this would have been a disaster of
note!!!
Dennis, D22 and Margaret were left at Base with us to do odd recce's up to
the YMCA and Tierboskloof with Metro. At one stage during the early
hours, Tierboskloof once again had some houses under threat. Before long
the fire tenders were dispatched and the fire was once again 'under
control'. Our Slangkop team were giving us sitreps at regular
intervals and they also had some problems on their hands at that end with
the wooden houses in the area being threatened.
At 06h00 we were given the clearance to stand down - our Blue Valley Team
and Slangkop team headed back to the school where it was time for a cup of
coffee and a peanut butter sandwich. To the ladies and one gent that
kept the make shift kitchen in the school hall going - a big thank you - I
do not remember when last a peanut butter sandwich tasted so good!
Thank you very much!
We then watched the South African Air Force helicopters fly over at about
07h00. We packed up and left at 07h15. To the team, well done!
To D20, my base buddy, thank you very much for all your assistance. I
think Base duty is for me!!
Wednesday, 19 January 2000
After a really good night's sleep it was time to head off to work -
I tried to make contact with Ian, D38 at about 13h30, as from my office window
the smoke was bellowing from Constantiaberg at a horrid rate - only to be
told that he had not arrived at work - rather concerning. But then this is
where cell phone communication comes in. D38 was at Constantia Nek
watching the next tragic saga unfold. Here 200 metres from the Restaurant
the flames were out of control. D38 radioed Metro to inform them of the
problem as there were no fire tenders or fire fighters in sight. Only
flying above him were three helicopters dumping water higher up on the
'berg'.
At 14:55, Disaster Management contacted Zero 2 to request the assistance of the ORU in the Noordhoek area. We
were to meet at the Community Centre to assist with transporting
fire fighters, food and to set up a comms base in the area for
communications between all the hot spots.
We received our page at approximately 14h59 and off we went on a drive to
remember. It is amazing to see how 'Joe public' has no regard for
emergency vehicles. We tried to take the Ou Kaapseweg route to
Noordhoek, but on reaching the top the fire had once again jumped the road
- making it very dangerous to carry on.  By
now the fire had reached horrific proportions in the Simon's Town area. This
meant taking the long route along Boyes Drive - with traffic backed up approximately
5 km to Kalk Bay it was full steam in the new 'middle' lane for the Landy.
We eventually reached the Noordhoek Community Centre where I made contact
with Andre Aucamp from Disaster Management. He was very glad to see
us and before we knew it we were tasked to move food and fire volunteers to
Simon's Town where the situation was on red alert.
Prior to Roy, D15 arriving I ran the Base radio from under a beautiful oak tree,
keeping track of which members were dispatched where. There were hundreds
of volunteers,
all shapes, sizes and ages. It was wonderful to see a community pull
together in bad times. The ladies in the kitchen were doing a tremendous
job ensuring that the food was there and getting the cool drinks cold for
the volunteer and fire fighter shift changes.
Once D15 arrived we got tables and chairs outside and set up the radios and
Base antenna. In the meantime we made contact with Victor and Cathy
and dispatched vehicles as required to ferry people and food. A short while later, Charles, D31 arrived towing our Emergency Response
Trailer. We were then able to set up a yagi antenna to improve our comms on TAC
2. Later in the evening we saw the flames above Capri Village in the distance. 
Things were not looking very good there. and before long we were requested to
dispatch vehicles and volunteers to assist with that situation. Most
of the members that responded were dispatched to assist on that side.
We requested to bring back some volunteers that had been there for some time
already. Tired volunteers were greeted with smiles, food and an ice cold
cool drink. Congratulations to the ladies in the kitchen - without them
things would not have been the same.
In the meantime we were requested to send a vehicle with volunteers up to
De Goede Hoop farm in Noordhoek, where the fire had started up again.
Directions that D96 had been given were not very accurate and Carl, D79 and
Sheeham, D39 were then sent to locate D96 to take him to the correct
location.
At about 01h30, D38 and I stood down, D38 was due to leave for
Johannesburg at 06h00. We left the rest at Capri and Base and headed back
home along Ou Kaapse Weg where the fire was still going, but had been
contained.
I just want to take the opportunity of thanking the ORU team - it was a
very sad time, but at the end I feel that the team work and spirit was
something that will stay with me for a long time to come. We have a
wonderful team of people and it's time we stood together to make this a
volunteer Unit of note ... I thank you all very very much and a big
thank you also to Zero 2 - you are always there for us!!!
Michele Basset, D47
Photos supplied by D Georgeu and D Hayward
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