Two climbers tragically fell to their death while attempting to abseil down a 3,560-foot tall mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, according to a report Tuesday.
The climbers, one a tourist and the other a tour guide, died and another tourist was seriously injured while climbing the Table Mountain on New Year’s day, reported The Daily Mail. The Cape Town Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) found the third climber stuck on a mountain ledge for hours, fighting for her life, with serious injuries Monday.
The tourists are said to be of Japanese origin, according to The Washington Post.
“We were able to extract the surviving female off the mountain last night, making use of the cable car as a rigging point from which to abseil,” said Johann Marais, the WSAR spokesperson, reported news24. Tt was difficult to communicate with the Japanese tourist who survived due to the language barrier, Marais added.
Wilderness Search & Rescue #TableMountain rescuer doing cpr on patient on cliff pic.twitter.com/lPiyoWlj6T
— Hanti Otto (@HantiO) January 1, 2018
#TableMountain #MountainRescue operation #WSAR
(CPT photographer Robert Miller credit @WSARWesternCape @WCHEMS @TableMountainNP pic.twitter.com/4a7YHoqmzI— Mountain Safety (@SafetyMountain) January 1, 2018
Never underestimate the dangers of climbing and hiking. Many people I bump into in our mountains are woefully unprepared. #TableMountain https://t.co/p7W2raEgtC
— Andrew@Eighty20 (@AndrewKFulton) January 2, 2018
The climbers were on a route called Arrow Final, using ropes to rappel down when they fell for an unknown reason. Due to the horrific incident, 800 tourists were left stranded on the mountain until 2 a.m. The surviving climber is currently in the hospital; her condition is currently unknown.
Table Mountain is considered more deadly than Mount Everest, with the official South African National Park website warning: “Please be aware that more people die on Table Mountain than Mount Everest,” reported news.com.au.
There are approximately 10 to 20 fatalities on the mountain each year, according to a spokesperson for the Mountain Club of South Africa. Approximately 225 people died on Table Mountain from 1920-2014, compared to 219 on Mount Everest.
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