Rescuers responded to a paragliding accident on Lion’s Head on Monday morning after a 27-year-old Austrian paraglider crashed into the mountainside.
According to the Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), a passing hiker, together with a local mountain guide, responded immediately after witnessing the crash.
WSAR spokesperson, David Nel, says the pair alerted emergency services while carefully preventing the pilot from tumbling further down the steep slope.
“A small technical rescue team aboard the Western Cape Government Health and Wellness EMS / Air Mercy Service (AMS) rescue helicopter was deployed to the scene.”
Nel says the patient was assessed and treated by a Western Cape Government Health and Wellness EMS paramedic before being airlifted to a nearby landing zone.
He was then transferred to an ambulance and transported to the hospital for further care.
“We thank the quick-thinking hiker and guide whose prompt actions helped stabilise the situation until rescue teams arrived, and wish the visiting pilot a full recovery.”
This incident comes after 35-year-old world champion paraglider Jean Jacques Wallis died in a paragliding crash on Lion’s Head last month.
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