Missing hikers safe and sound

WHAT started out as a day hike through the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast turned into a 32-hour ordeal for two Durban men, after they became lost in dense bush and had to be rescued yesterday afternoon. The men – both in their 60s – set out on the Nkona trail, just after 8am on Saturday. According to the National Sea Rescue Institute, the men, a doctor from Amanzimtoti and a pastor from Durban, had been expected home around 4pm on Saturday but family grew concerned when they did not return. The NSRI said an extensive search was conducted on Saturday night, with its Port Edward team joining with police Search and Rescue, GB Med Security, local farmers and the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Park rangers to look for the men. However, they could not be found. The NSRI said that yesterday morning, the men made contact and confirmed that they had got lost while hiking in thick mist and rain. Med-Evac Ambulance’s Glen Preston Preston and a local pilot located the men on a river bank, in an area that search teams had been unable to reach on foot. They were dehydrated but well. –