Three children died on Saturday night when a vehicle tumbled 80m down the side of the Bainskloof Pass on the R301 between Wellington and Ceres in the Western Cape.
A 60-year-old woman who survived the incident is in Paarl hospital after a daring rescue by Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR).
According to WSAR, the four were travelling on the mountain pass when they went off the road just before 7pm.
The rescue team had to use a double rope-and-tackle system using three vehicles as anchors to winch the victims up to the road. The injured woman was only rescued at 11pm.
“Thereafter the teams descended again to place three small children who had not survived the crash in a Stokes basket [where they were] winched out of the kloof,” WSAR reported.
The woman suffered serious injuries and the rescue was described as “difficult”, with very little cellphone coverage.
The operation was concluded just before 3am on Sunday and the bodies were handed to the Wellington SAPS forensics department.
“We express our condolences to the families affected and trust that the female patient will have a full recovery,” WSAR said.
TimesLIVE
Three young children die after car plunges down mountain pass
Image: Supplied
Three children died on Saturday night when a vehicle tumbled 80m down the side of the Bainskloof Pass on the R301 between Wellington and Ceres in the Western Cape.
A 60-year-old woman who survived the incident is in Paarl hospital after a daring rescue by Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR).
According to WSAR, the four were travelling on the mountain pass when they went off the road just before 7pm.
The rescue team had to use a double rope-and-tackle system using three vehicles as anchors to winch the victims up to the road. The injured woman was only rescued at 11pm.
“Thereafter the teams descended again to place three small children who had not survived the crash in a Stokes basket [where they were] winched out of the kloof,” WSAR reported.
The woman suffered serious injuries and the rescue was described as “difficult”, with very little cellphone coverage.
The operation was concluded just before 3am on Sunday and the bodies were handed to the Wellington SAPS forensics department.
“We express our condolences to the families affected and trust that the female patient will have a full recovery,” WSAR said.
TimesLIVE
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