A search and rescue drone and a helicopter worked in tandem to rescue a hiker lost in the Table Mountains in Cape Town yesterday.

This collaborative rescue effort was undertaken by the Western Cape Government’s Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Drone Unit – which provided the drone services – and the Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR), a network of civilian volunteer organisations and government agencies, who partner in search and rescue in the Western Cape province.

The 29-year-old hiker is on a tour from outside South Africa, and late on Tuesday she and a local guide went up the mountains, hiking up the India Venster trail.

As they neared the junction with Kloof Corner, the pair got lost and when they realised it was no longer safe to proceed, or to retrace their steps, they made an SOS to the WSAR.

“The information received from the guide suggested a location on Cairn Buttress, High above Camps Bay,” the organisation said in a Facebook post.

“In a carefully co-ordinated response, teams were dispatched to a staging point, while the drone team determined the exact location of the patients.”

Tim Lundy coordinated the drone rescue effort on the scene.

“The drone found the patients within 10 minutes,” he said.

“We called the patients on their cell phone and had them tell us where the drone was relative to their position. Once we’d spotted them, the drone was able to provide valuable information about the terrain to the rescue team. They (the drone team) were also able to provide us with an exact GPS location for the patients.”

Once the drone made this information available, it was easier for the health department’s Air Mercy Service (AMS) helicopter to fly to the scene and rescue the hikers.

Said WSAR; “A team member was flown to scene with harnesses and safety equipment. The patients were then hoisted into the helicopter and flown to a dedicated landing zone.”

The Western Cape became the first government entity to satisfy inspectors and earn a Remote Operator’s Certificate in December 2020, and since then, its drone unit has worked some magic rescuing people lost in the mountains.

“The drone is an enormous help to the Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR),” Tim Lundy said. “We’re able to locate patients faster, during the day and at night. Our field members are better able to plan and implement rescues, based on the images and video we receive.”