GRASKOP – A man (28) was rescued on Saturday afternoon after falling approximately 30 storeys off a cliff. He was a tourist at God’s Window, and not a mountain climber as reported earlier.
He is in a critical condition in Mediclinic Nelspruit. He was airlifted to the hospital from the scene of the accident.
According to sources, the man suffered a broken femur, the bone in the upper leg. Mr Anton Strydom, from off-road rescue unit (ORRU) said that the man might also have suffered a fractured skull.
“He is very lucky to be alive,” said Strydom, who was part of the rescue team. He explained that the man fell about 30 metres down a cliff face, before hitting the next level. He proceeded to roll down God’s Window for another approximately 40 metres of steep incline before reaching another steep drop.
Strydom surmised that the man’s fall was broken by trees and shrubbery he met on the way down. Yet, according to rescue workers, the man was conscious and able to speak by the time they reached him.
Police spokesman, Sgt Gerald Sedibe, has confirmed that the rescue mission was successful. Strydom confirmed that the Mpumalanga emergency medical services dispatched a helicopter to the scene shortly after the incident was reported.
However, poor weather conditions made it impossible for them to continue their rescue mission and they were forced to turn back, he said.
The rescue people on the ground, including ORRU, devised a pulley and after stabilising the patient, pulled him up, according to Strydom. When the skies cleared, the chopper returned and transported the man to hospital.
