Written by Kormorant | 2 September 2010

Members of a church from Krugersdorp were airlifted to safety on Sunday afternoon after they lost their way on the Magalies Mountain. The five adults and four small children are all members of the Pentecostal Church and were on the mountain with approximately 50 other members of the congregation to pray when they got lost on the mountain.

One of the rescued members of the congregation told Kormorant that not only do they spend the weekend on the mountain to pry, but they also fast during this time, which means that they do not eat or drink anything when they are there.

The group arrived on Friday morning and had parked their vehicles at a lodge in De Rust from where they set off. According to the congregation member the group were together until Sunday morning when the priests had to leave to attend to an emergency. “The priests asked the elders to look after everyone while we go down the mountain but we got separated from the group and could not find them again. We walked and walked but by 12:00 realised we were lost and called for help,” she explained.

She said that she called the cellular phone network’s emergency number and was put through to the Brits police station. Because they went missing in the Hartbeespoort area the Brits police gave the information through to the Hartbeespoort police station.

A number of members of the Hartbeespoort police conducted a search and located the missing church members on old Rustenburg Road side of the Magalies Mountain. The police members carried the children approximately one kilometre to the area where the SAPS helicopter could pick them up and take them to safety.

The helicopter landed at Hartbeespoort High School where members of the Necsa Emergency Service waited to assess their condition. The emergency service had to administer a drip to one of the women while the others were given water to drink.

The congregation member said that they would only eat again once they reached their homes in Krugersdorp.