STAFF REPORTER
Table Mountain National Park was once again the scene of tragedy over the weekend when a 26-year-old man fell to his death on Lion’s Head. The incident took place on the evening of Friday February 5
The TMNP said the incident served as a reminder that the mountain was a wilderness area. They also expressed their condolonces to the family of the young man from who fell 30 metres on Lion’s Head and died of his injuries before he could be rescued.
This follows the discovery of the body of a man on the Pipe Track, near Camps Bay, earlier this month, which police are investigating.
Park manager, Paddy Gordon, said rescue efforts were severely hampered by the terrain which included sleep slopes and an unstable surface.
“The patient slipped from his original landing point and the first rescuers on site tried to stop him from slipping further by tying a sling to his arm. Unfortunately, they could not extract him because they were unable to get the patient into a stretcher for the helicopter to airlift him off the mountain. The patient subsequently died of his injuries on site.
“Although park management will constantly improve footpaths and introduce safety measures, tragedies of this nature remind us that Table Mountain is wilderness terrain and extreme caution needs to be exercised,” said Mr Gordon.
A full investigation is being undertaken by SAPS to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the accident.
