Jan. 2 (UPI) — A climber and his guide died while climbing Cape Town, South Africa’s Table Mountain, stranding hundreds of other tourists at the top of the mountain during a rescue mission, officials said.
Another tourist who was part of the group was recovering Tuesday in a hospital after the incident Monday.
South African National Parks officials said the two Japanese tourists were climbing the mountain, a World Heritage Site that is flat on top like a table, along with a local guide.
“The male fell and apparently he pulled the other two down with him. The two males died and the female tourist survived. She was rescued by means of the cable car,” SANParks spokeswoman Merle Collins said.
The Table Mountain Cableway, a cable car service that takes people up and down the mountain, said that because rescuers had to use the service to reach the three climbers, about 500 tourists were trapped at the top of the mountain until after midnight.
SANParks said it was investigating the cause of the deaths.
