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Cape Town – A family had to be rescued from a hiking trail in the Boland on Sunday morning after they got into trouble with icy weather conditions, said Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR).
The parents noticed their daughters, aged 7 and 9, were showing signs of hypothermia, said WSAR spokesperson Johann Marais.
They called for help just after 01:00.
Temperatures in that section of the mountain were estimated to be -3 degrees Celsius.
- Health24: Hypothermia
A rescue team with a medic set off in three vehicles to the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, where the hiking trail was.
They established via cellphone that the family had planned to walk to a hut that was accessible by 4x4.
Marais said heavy rain washed away the 4x4 track. "Driving up there was difficult," he said.
The rescue party reached the stranded family at the hut around 04:40. They immediately treated the children and then brought them down in the vehicles.
The family were dropped off at the entrance and returned home to Gordon’s Bay.
“The public should be aware of the very cold and wet conditions out there and not take unnecessary chances by venturing into the mountains,” Marais warned.
