Several tourists stranded on Table Mountain
Cape Town – Several tourists have been left stranded on Table Mountain following a climbing incident involving three people, Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) said on Monday evening.
WSAR spokesperson Johann Marais said the Table Mountain Cable Car is being used in the rescue operation of two climbers dangling from ropes on Arrow Final of the mountain.
"A third person also on a controlled rope is administering CPR to one of the persons," Marais said. "With the cable car being used as a rescue vehicle, people cannot take the cable car down."
The men are dangling from ropes below the upper cable station at least 150 metres down.
"In order to gain access to the injured climbers, rescuers are making use of the cable cars from which a rope system has been rigged to lower medical and rescue person.
"This has subsequently left numerous tourists stranded at the Upper Cable Station for several hours, said Marais.
20 officials have been deployed to scene for the rescue operation.
The WSAR has appealed to the public to be patient and to allow rescue teams to conduct the rescue in a safe and controlled manner. News24
Update:
Two dead in Table Mountain climbing incident
Cape Town – Two men have been declared dead following a dramatic rescue mission on Table Mountain which left over 800 people stranded for hours.
The men, together with a woman, were climbing Arrow Final on the side of the mountain when they are believed to have fallen.
"[The] bodies [of the men] will be secured to the cliff and Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) will commence bringing those bodies down" once all the visitors have been brought down, WSAR's Johann Marais said.
Shortly after 22:15, Marais said the sole survivor, the woman, was being brought down by the cable car.
She was joined by rescuers and the first group of members of the public who have been stuck on the mountain for over five hours as the cable car was used to access the climbers.
Marais said once the woman is taken to the ground, the remaining visitors will be safely brought down the mountain.
He estimates that all visitors will be brought down by 11:30.
"We thank the public for understanding the predicament and the reason why we had to call for the assistance of the cable car," he said. News24
Bodies of tourist, guide retrieved after Table Mountain accident
Cape Town - The bodies of a female foreign tourist and a local male guide were retrieved early on Tuesday morning from the site of an abseiling accident on Table Mountain, Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) said.
"We only finished at 06:00 this morning. We took the bodies off the mountain, using the cable car," said WSAR spokesperson Johann Marais.
"We were able to extract the surviving female off the mountain last night, making use of the cable car as a rigging point from which to abseil."
The sole survivor, also a foreign tourist, was taken straight to hospital for treatment. The extent of her injuries was not yet known.
Marais said that after rescuing the female survivor, the cable car was then put back into use to bring down the approximately 800 tourists who had been left stranded on the mountain during the rescue operation.
The cable car company sent people up the mountain, on foot, to reopen the restaurant, where those stranded could wait and receive refreshments.
Everyone was brought back to the base by 02:00 and the cable car was then used to extricate the bodies.
The gender of the two people who died, was clarified by Marais on Tuesday, as previously it was thought that they were both men.
He said the exact circumstances of the accident, which took place on Monday afternoon, were not yet clear.
"They were abseiling and were each tied to the rope and all three of them fell the (full) length of the safety rope…There was no more rope."
