A teenage girl was rushed to hospital after falling and “bouncing” about 30m on to an embankment while hiking on Lion’s Head.
|||A teenage girl was rushed to hospital after falling and “bouncing” about 30m on to an embankment while hiking with a group on Lion’s Head on Tuesday morning.
The 15-year-old girl was airlifted by helicopter and taken to Vincent Pallotti Hospital.
She was in a critical condition after sustaining multiple abrasions and cuts on her body and fractures to both ankles, AMS spokeswoman Rushana Slarmie said.
Stephanie Nunn, a jogger, said she heard screams and then saw the teenager “bounce off” the side of Lion’s Head. “It was awful to see someone falling like that. I thought the person had died,” Nunn said.
“The person bounced twice and then I couldn’t see anything. I heard people screaming and immediately got out of my car and frantically ran to tell someone,” said Nunn, a Diep River resident who was in her parked car getting ready to go jogging at about 6.45am.
The hiker was believed to have lost her footing and fell while walking with her group.
“I then saw the group of people on the mountain trying to make their way down in the direction where I saw the body falling. I waited until the ambulance and the helicopter came. They told me that it was a young girl,” Nunn said.
Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman Keri Davids said paramedics responded to the incident at 7am on Tuesday. “She was hiking with her father’s motorbike club. She tripped and fell about 30 metres and ended up in an embankment on Lion’s Head. She complained of pain throughout her entire body,” Davids said.
She said the teenager was believed to be the daughter of one of the men belonging to the biker club.
Family and friends of the 15-year-old declined to divulge details of her condition.
Hospital spokeswoman Sue Scholtz also declined to comment and said the girl’s parents had asked for her details to be kept private.
“Unfortunately, we cannot give out any information about the girl because we have to take into account patient confidentiality laws.
“Her parents do not want to speak to the media at all. They wouldn’t allow any interviews,” Scholtz said. - Cape Times
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