THE EMERGENCY NUMBERS ARE:
074-125-1385
074-163-3952

If this fails, try one of the SAR coordinators.

Emergency Calls Using Cellular Phones

What do we respond to?

We are primarily a MOUNTAIN SEARCH AND RESCUE team. Our area of specialisation lies in the mountains. We will therefore respond to any incident in a mountainous or wilderness area which involves a missing, stuck or injured person.

Typical incidents which we regard as being in our area of expertise are those which involve people who have been injured in the mountains (eg: hikers, tourists, paragliders, motorists) or have not returned home from trips in the mountains and are believed to be lost or injured there.

How do you call us out?

For RESCUES, contact the above number and state that you have a MOUNTAIN RESCUE EMERGENCY.

For SEARCHES, contact either the land-owner (if on state land) or the South African Police Service. Inform them of the nature of the emergency and request that they call MCSA SEARCH AND RESCUE.

What do we need to know?

We need to know the following:
  • YOUR CONTACT PHONE NUMBER! (In case the connection is broken or we need more info)
  • What happened?
  • Where did it happen? (& where you are)
  • How many people injured / missing?
  • Nature of known injuries and first-aid given?
  • How many uninjured in the group?
  • What is the weather like and what do you think it will be like?
  • What is the terrain immediately around the accident site like?
  • What route did you follow to get where you are and how long did it take?
  • Is there a flattish spot 30m x 30m wide nearby, with no trees or bushes?

What are our response times?

The response time depends on a number of factors. These include:

- The nature of the incident
- Whether or not a SAAF helicopter has been or will be tasked for the job
- The distances we need to drive
- The additional distances we need to walk to gain access to the patient

In addition to this are factors such as the availability of resources (work day or weekend) and the time of day.

However, experience has shown that in extreme cases we can have a hasty team on the road within 30 minutes during the week and as little as 20 minutes over weekends. Their task is to reach the scene, assess the situation and provide initial treatment to whomever needs it, or to conduct an initial hasty search of the most likely places a missing person would be likely to be found.

The second phase of the team is normally on the road within 1 - 1.5 hours of the initial call. Their task is to move the bulk of the equipment and to set up and man the systems required to get the patient(s) to definitive care or to conduct area-search tasks.

Making Emergency Calls from a Cellular Phone
IMPORTANT!

THE CELLULAR PHONE NUMBER FOR EMERGENCIES '112'
Calls to this number are FREE.

Quite often people take cellular telephones into the mountains for use in the event of an emergency. There are a couple of things to remember when doing this:
  1. Having a strong signal strength does not equate to being able to make a call. There are places in our mountains where a 5-bar signal strength will still not equate to a phone conversation. Test your ability to make calls from time to time - especially in places you go to often.
  2. In places where the signal strength is weak, you might be able to communicate using SMS even if voice communication is not possible. Likewise, when the phone's battery is running flat, you might be able to communicate with SMS, which requires less battery power for shorter periods. Plan for this possibilty by arranging potential SMS communications with someone - normally the person tasked with calling for help if you don't return on time.
  3. It is NO LONGER POSSIBLE to make emergency calls without a valid SIM card in your phone. The old trick of removing the SIM card to gain access to another network will therefore NOPT work.