BETWEEN A ROCK...

Station 14 (Plettenberg Bay) was called to assist an injured hiker who’d taken a nasty fall on a trail. Cherelle Leong tells the story.

IT WAS JUST BEFORE 2pm on Sunday 10 April when Station 14 (Plettenberg Bay) was activated for a call. A hiker had been injured near the end of a hiking trail at Cairnbrogie Farm in the Kranshoek area. The group had completed the main hiking trail and had decided to go for a swim, which involved climbing down a cliff along a steep rocky path to get to the water.

It was a challenging route on tired legs but fortunately a guide rope runs alongside the trail to help hikers to steady themselves. Bianca Habib was following her friends along the trail when she stepped down a steep incline and held onto the rope for support. The rope went slack, and she lost her balance, landing on a straightened left leg and twisting her knee in the process. Deputy station commander Laurent Eray responded to the scene in the base mobile, along with crew members Matthew Leppan, Nathan Hart and Wihann Kotze. The information they received was that a hiker was injured on the trail, not far from the parking lot. They were hoping they’d be able to carry her out, but the final decision would be made after assessing the situation first-hand.

CHANGE OF PLAN

On reaching the parking lot, Matthew, Nathan and Wihann grabbed the medical kit and handheld radio, and prepared to hike down the trail to where Bianca was located. Once they started descending, it quickly became apparent that it would be too dangerous to attempt to carry any casualty out of there. The trail was too steep and rocky, and she was much further down the trail than initially anticipated. While the crew worked to assess Bianca’s injuries and stabilise her, they communicated to Laurent that an alternative evacuation plan would need to be made. Bianca had injured her knee quite badly and couldn’t place any weight on that leg. Because carrying her back up the trail had already been ruled out, a helicopter hoist was the only option.

A request was placed with AMS for assistance and they were activated to respond to the scene. In the meantime the NSRI crew worked to prepare Bianca for transport. It helped that Matthew knew Bianca’s husband, Ryan, and they were able to keep a conversation going while waiting for the helicopter. With news that AMS was on its way, the rest of the hiking party climbed back up the cliff path to the balance, she reached parking lot. A landing zone had already been set up for the guide rope but there for the helicopter, grasped air instead… with the NSRI crew on standby to assist. The AMS helicopter proceeded to hover near the cliff and hoisted two EMS rescue technicians down to where Bianca was located. Once they’d completed their assessment, the hoist was called for. With her injured leg stabilised, Bianca was secured into a seated strop and hoisted up into the AMS helicopter along with one of the EMS rescue technicians. Once they were safely on board, the helicopter delivered them to the landing zone to meet up with Ryan, who was waiting there. The EMS rescue technician who had accompanied Bianca continued treatment to ensure that she was comfortable. Meanwhile the helicopter returned to collect the second EMS rescue technician, who’d stayed behind with the NSRI crew. As the day drew to a close, the remaining NSRI crew hiked back up to the parking lot.

The AMS helicopter then transported Bianca, accompanied by both EMS technicians, to a Knysna hospital where she was admitted for further care.

THE ONLY OPTION

Bianca saw an orthopaedic surgeon the following week, after a few days of rest to allow some of the swelling to subside. An MRI scan confirmed that the injury was quite severe and would require surgery – she had completely torn her anterior cruciate ligament. In addition, she was suffering from a torn meniscus and her tibia was bruised. Eight weeks after the complex surgery, Bianca reported that she was in good health. She was undergoing intense physio rehabilitation and getting around on crutches. She hopes to make a full recovery in time and has expressed her gratitude to everyone involved in the rescue. Because the accident happened in the early afternoon, there were only a limited number of daylight hours to work with. The availability of the AMS helicopter to assist with an aerial evacuation resulted in a very efficient and safe rescue. Without an aerial rescue, the only option would have been to try to carry Bianca out. The steep, rocky and narrow cliff path would have made this very challenging and time-consuming, and treacherous to attempt in the dark. The NSRI is very grateful for the close working relationship it has with AMS, whose assistance made this rescue successful.