A hiker from abroad and her local tour guide who sought help after losing their way on a challenging trail up Table Mountain were airlifted to safety by helicopter after a drone revealed their location.

The 29-year-old hiker and her guide got into difficulty late on Tuesday afternoon while hiking up India Venster.

“At a point where it was no longer safe to proceed, nor was it safe to retrace their steps, a decision was made to call Wilderness Search And Rescue [WSAR] for help,” WSAR said on Wednesday.

Information received from the guide suggested they were on Cairn Buttress, high above Camps Bay.

The provincial health emergency services drone unit was dispatched.

On-scene rescue co-ordinator Tim Lundy said: “The drone found the patients within 10 minutes. We called the patients on their cellphone and had them tell us where the drone was relative to their position.

“Once we’d spotted them, the drone was able to provide valuable information about the terrain to the rescue team. They [the drone team] were also able to provide us with an exact GPS location for the patients.”

It was decided to use the Air Mercy Service (AMS) helicopter to rescue the pair. A team member was flown to the scene with harnesses and safety equipment, the two were hoisted aboard and flown to a dedicated landing zone.

“The drone is an enormous help to Wilderness Search And Rescue. We’re able to locate patients faster during the day and at night. Our field members are better able to plan and implement rescues based on the images and video we receive,” said Lundy.

TimesLIVE