Emergency services perform dramatic cliff rescue on Chapman's Peak Drive

A dramatic rescue operation involving multiple emergency services resulted in a man being airlifted to the hospital after being trapped in a car that plunged off a Chapman's Peak cliff on Sunday, January 25.

NSRI Hout Bay duty crew, preparing for routine training at 8.30 am, was alerted to the accident. Responding were NSRI Hout Bay with two rescue craft, Cape Medical Response (CMR), Western Cape government health emergency medical service (EMS), Cape Town fire and rescue services, traffic services, law enforcement, and the police.

According to NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon, authorities were concerned as it was initially unknown if the vehicle had landed in the water.

On arrival, the vehicle, a hatchback, was located on rocks along the shoreline below the scenic route, on the Noordhoek side.

Three NSRI rescue swimmers were deployed and swam ashore, where they found a man trapped and injured inside the car.

Mr Lambinon said that the rescue was complicated by the location, necessitating a helicopter airlift.

According to the NSRI, Cape Town traffic services, in cooperation with Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP), closed the road to facilitate the operation.

Metro EMS led the complex extrication.

The EMS/AMS Skymed rescue helicopter airlifted EMS rescue technicians and extrication tools from the roadway down to the scene.

The technicians freed the injured man, who was then airlifted in a stable condition to a landing zone at Noordhoek and transported to the hospital by EMS ambulance.

Two adult men bystanders, who had climbed down the cliff to investigate, were also on the scene.

One was treated for minor injuries after climbing back up to the road, and the other, a cyclist, was airlifted to the roadway, said the organisation in a statement.

Spencer Oldham, NSRI Hout Bay station commander, commended the collective effort.

“The swift response and effective cooperation of all emergency services are highly commended,” he said. 

The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the police.

Following this incident, the NSRI Hout Bay rescue craft, Cape Town fire and rescue services, and EMS responded to Soetwater, Kommetjie, where a boat had capsized.

On arrival on the scene, the casualty boat was found washed ashore, and the casualty crew were attended to by paramedics, who were not injured, according to a statement from the NSRI.

While departing from that incident, to return to base, in the vicinity of Soetwater, the NSRI rescue craft was flagged down by teenagers on a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB), that had sustained motor mechanical failure.

NSRI towed the RHIB, with the five boys onboard, safely to Hout Bay where their craft was recovered without incident.

For more information, visit the NSRI website for more information. Call NSRI emergency on 087 094 9774.