Hikers safe after stormy night

2003-03-26 23:19

Vera Schoeman

Storms River - The 18 hikers from Pretoria, who were trapped by the Storms River, spent a distressing night praying in a homemade shelter.

The nightmare happened exactly three years after 13 people died in the Storms River during a teambuilding exercise. Before the tragedy on March 25, 2000, it also rained for five days in the catchment area of the Witteklip and Storms rivers, resulting in the flash flood in which 13 people drowned.

The group of 18 from Pretoria was hiking along the Tsitsikamma trail from Nature's Valley when they were trapped by the raging river on Tuesday afternoon. They managed to contact the Storms River police via a cellphone, but rescue workers could not reach them because of heavy fog, rain and the high levels of the rivers between which they were trapped.

The group built a shelter of branches, canvas and leaves, sat close to each other to stay warm and then started to pray. "We did not stop worshipping for a second. We prayed for God to help us and trusted that He would," a member of the group said.

Prayers answered

Their prayers were answered on Wednesday morning when the level of a tributary of the Storms River dropped to such an extent that they were able to cross to safety.

By the time the team of rescue workers arrived, the 18 hikers were on their way to the overnight hut in Sleepkloof.

Alta Pretorius, wife of the chairperson of the Pretoria East Hiking Club, said when they realised at about 04:00 on Wednesday morning that the level of the tributary had dropped significantly, the men formed a human chain over the river.

They helped the woman to cross through the icy water before struggling to shore as well.

Saville Kops, head of rescue services of the Port Elizabeth Metro, said that although the hikers were cold and wet, they did not need any medical treatment.

Christiaan Smit, a forester of Safcol, said he was grateful that the group did not try to cross the raging river as they could have been dragged away by the strong current.

- Die Burger Oos