Paramedics attend to boy who fell off cliff

A 10 year old boy is fighting for his life in a Johannesburg hospital after falling off an 8 meter rock face in the Bocshkop area of Pretoria this afternoon. It is believed that the boy was jumping from the rock face next to a waterfall when he slipped and landed on the rocks below before sliding into the water.

A bystander pulled the unconscious child from the water and when Netcare 911 paramedics arrived, they found the child laying on the rocks at the waters edge and in a critical condition. They worked fervently to stabilize the child and had to place him on a ventilator. After immobilizing him on a spinal board to protect him from further injuries, bystanders helped them carry the critically wounded child up a steep embankment to an awaiting ambulance.

He was then driven to a landing site about a kilometre away where the medical helicopter had landed and was waiting to airlift the patient to the Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg for further medical care .

Chris Botha

Netcare 911