Ballito man relives cliffhanger nightmare in Drakensburg

It was something similar to a dream of falling and then suddenly waking up, except in Ballito’s William Labuschangne‘s case, it was not a dream but rather a five-hour-nightmare when he fell off a 15-metre cliff in November last year.

Not put off by the date, Friday the 13th, Labuschagne, a 54-year-old property developer, and seven friends set off to the Drakensburg for an adventurous ride through the trails of lower Lotheni.

In an effort to avoid an anthill, Labuschagne lost his balance on his 230 kilogram motorbike and plummeted down a cliff.

Narrowly avoiding falling into the river below the cliff, the adventure junkie landed on a patch of grass below the cliff and waited five hours before being rescued by Netcare 911.

“My leg was completely shattered but I am lucky to have landed on the soft grass and broke only my leg.

“I looked down in horror and saw that the bone from my leg was sticking out. Without thinking, I pushed it back in and that caused a tremendous amount of pain,” said Labuschagne.

After paddling through a river on a rubber boat, Netcare 911 paramedics rescued Labuschangne.

Recently the now fully recovered man had the opportunity to formally thank the team in Umhlanga.

“The only thing that kept me going while I waited to be rescued was that I somehow managed to get enough signal to phone my wife who prayed for me and kept me calm.

“I am also grateful to my friends, Treffon and Mark who contacted the emergency services. The Netcare 911 team were remarkable.

‘They immediately injected me to relieve my pain and I was transported to St Anne’s hospital in Pietermaritzburg,” said Labuschagne.

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