The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health EMS/AMS emergency helicopter completed a mountain rescue at Moweni Cutback, Magaliesburg section of the Drakensberg during one of the long weekends in April. The patient had fallen and broken her ankle. Fortunately the members of the Mountain Club of South Africa was with her, but it would have been a few days walk out of the mountain. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health EMS/AMS emergency helicopter was dispatched to airlift the patient. On arrival at scene the crew discovered the patient was approximately at 10 000ft (3000m) elevation.
Bitterly cold and losing daylight, the pilots flew down to a lower altitude and dropped the second pilot, crew and some equipment and flew back to the top of the mountain to see if they could land to fetch the patient. Cooler air and less weight allowed them to land safely and uplift the patient, before flying down to hot load the crews and equipment due to falling daylight before returning to the night approved landing zone (LZ) at Greys Hospital. The patient was then transported to St Anne’s Hospital by ambulance in a stable condition. Thank you to all the crew involved in successfully completing this mission!
