Dramatic rescue for snakebite victim
2013-01-11 10:37
Pietermaritzburg - Precision flying by an army helicopter
pilot helped save a man’s life after he was bitten by a puff adder while
camping in the Drakensberg on Wednesday night.
Harro Tonsing, 57, is in a stable condition at St Anne’s
Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. The correct reactions by his friends laid the
foundation for his rescue after he was bitten on the foot while hiking in the
uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park.
“He is stable and doing well at the moment. He is under
specialised care and receiving treatment,” said hospital spokesperson Shubnum
Ismail.
Rescue team
After Tonsing was bitten, members in the group he was hiking
with alerted the rangers of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. The rangers called the
Mountain Club’s search and rescue team to assist about 16:30, just as the
afternoon’s storm clouds started to form.
Rescue convener Gavin Raubenheimer said the mountain club
then put together a combined rescue team with an Emergency Medical Rescue Services
(EMRS) paramedic and three mountain club members. The team flew from Pietermaritzburg Airport by helicopter and arrived at 20:00, necessitating a difficult and dangerous night hoisting operation in a deep, closed-out valley at 2 300m altitude.
The mountaineers and paramedic were lowered near the cave in which Tonsing sheltered, and got him ready for a fast flight to
Pietermaritzburg.
Raubenheimer praised the pilot, who had to dodge
thunderstorms in both directions of the flight. “It was a successful operation
which involved skilled flying by the SA Airforce.”
- The website sareptiles.co.za warns people who are bitten
by puff adders to first move the snake away with a stick; then to call for
help; and then to keep the bite victim as still as possible. Helpers must not
cut or incise the bite, nor try suck the venom out.
Puff adder venom causes severe pain, swellings, haemorrhages
and nausea. Death is caused by secondary effects, like kidney failure. When the
patient does not die, body tissue usually dies around the bite mark.
