Joburg woman dies after 25m ravine fall in Drakensberg

A Johannesburg woman aged 41 fell to her death after a solo summit at Gray's Pass in the Drakensberg on Sunday.

Mountain Club KwaZulu-Natal Rescue convener Gavin Raubenheimer said her body was eventually found on Tuesday afternoon after weather cleared, allowing a helicopter to join the search.

She was part of a group of three women hikers who camped just below the Gray's Pass summit on Saturday. 

On Sunday the trio set off for the top but two of them turned back.

The woman, who has not been named, sent a message to the hikers to say she had reached the top and was on her way down but never returned.

On Sunday Ezemvelo/KZN Wildlife rangers went looking for the hiker.

On Monday a combined search between the Mountain Club of SA search & rescue team, SAPS K9 search & rescue and their dogs, and Ezemvelo/KZN Wildlife rangers continued the search.

Raubenheimer said conditions on the mountain were poor, with heavy mist and rain. On Tuesday when the weather cleared, the woman's body was spotted by the helicopter crew. She had fallen 25m into a ravine.

"Teams are busy extracting the body today. It it will be a high angle rope extraction," said Raubenheimer, adding that the woman's family had arrived.

"We know she was a fit, active woman. Witnesses saw her at the summit and she did take photos from the mountain. She was seen moving very fast in very good visibility and it appears she fell."