It took fourteen hard hours, but a lost hiker finally got to leave Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa on Monday morning, after spending the night talking to a drone.
The 20-year-old hiker was exploring high above the Newlands part of the mountain late on Sunday afternoon when he became disorientated, lost the trail and, suddenly found himself stranded on a steep cliff, unable to safely move either forwards or back.
“Realising the seriousness of his situation, and with just limited battery remaining, he made the decision to call for help before darkness closed in,” said the Wilderness Search and Rescue, the network of government agencies and civilian volunteer groups that work together to rescue lost or injured people in mountains, remote areas, and the wilderness in and around the city of Cape Town.
That decision set in motion one of the most technically demanding rescue operations the WSAR has had to work with in recent times.
The teams responded immediately, deploying specialist rope rescue personnel from the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway's upper station.
“Working through the night in steep and exposed terrain, the teams were supported by the Western Cape Government Health and Wellness EMS Drone Unit, whose aerial view was invaluable in locating the hiker and helping guide rescuers safely towards him.”
Actually, the drone did more than just locate the lost hiker, who must have been getting freaked out, the longer he stayed on that steep mountain front, with the lights of Cape Town blinking in his eyes.
“The drone also provided some much-needed reassurance. While the rescue teams were making their way towards the top of the cliff, it was used to communicate directly with the hiker, letting him know that help was on its way.
“After being alone on the mountain in the darkness, hearing a voice coming from a drone was a somewhat surreal experience, and he later said he briefly wondered if he was hallucinating.”
Fortunately, the voice was very real, and it was telling him that the rescue team was on its way.
The talking drone was provided by Hugh Dean, a local resident who said he lent his drone to the EMS drone unit when he realised how much they were in need of something reassure the hiker.
“My drone video platform was used to support the fantastic work of Capt(ain Fabian) Higgins and the WC EMS Drone Unit to disseminate the live footage to the team,” said Dean.
“Times like these that's puts such a huge smile on my face, a privilege to be working with the guys. Congrats again, that was amazing to see.
“The drone has a speaker payload fitted to the aircraft that broadcasts audio transmitted from the pilot controller over the aircraft datalink. We managed the live video only, the Drone Unit was responsible for the great use of the onboard audio.”
While the drone kept the stricken hiker company, the rescue team was working its way up the mountain. Once they reached the top of the cliff, a small technical rescue team established a rope system before abseiling nearly 200 metres down the cliff to reach the hiker.
Upon reaching him, they quicky assessed his condition and were delighted to discover he had no physical injuries on him. Afterwards, the rescuers carefully secured him into the rope system before raising him back up the cliff to the waiting rescue team.
“Following hours exposed on the mountainside, he was given food and water before being escorted safely back to a waiting vehicle. From there, he was driven down the mountain to safety,” the WSAR said.
“Once all team members had ascended back to the top, rescuers dismantled and packed away their technical rescue systems before returning to the upper cable station, where they caught the first cable car down.
“The incident was concluded shortly after 07h00 on Monday morning, with all team members safely off the mountain.”