East Coast Radio Podcasts SA Rescue - Out Alive

No way down: The Tugela Falls rescue

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Two young adventurers set out to abseil Tugela Falls in the Northern Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal as part of a source-to-sea expedition. It's a descent that only a handful of people have completed. But when their attempt went wrong in February 2024, the pair found themselves stranded for two nights on one of the world’s tallest waterfalls, exhausted and running out of options. As conditions became more dangerous, they made the call for help.

This episode brings you a survivor’s account and follows the volunteer rescuers from the Mountain Club of South Africa who responded to the distress call and made their way into the Drakensberg to bring the pair to safety.

* SA Rescue: Out Alive is researched, written and narrated by East Coast Radio Newswatch journalists Natarah Nadesan and Dineo Mphahlele, and produced by the East Coast Radio team.

This episode honours the volunteer rescuers of the Mountain Club of South Africa, who respond when lives hang in the balance in remote and challenging terrain.

This is the final episode of Season 1 of SA Rescue: Out Alive.
Chapters
  • 00:00 Intro and about the Tugela Falls
  • 08:41 The source-to-sea expedition
  • 12:41 Ignoring the warnings
  • 18:09 Starting the abseil
  • 26:04 Spending the night on the rock face
  • 33:44 Losing her safety tether
  • 38:12 Calling for rescue
  • 49:05 The rescue operation
  • 59:34 Reflecting on what went wrong
21 May English South Africa News · Documentary

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