Two climbers die on Table Mountain in South Africa

Hundreds of stranded tourists taken off peak after rescue operation recovers bodies

Table Mountain and Cape Town Harbour, South Africa. File photograph: iStock/Getty Images
Table Mountain and Cape Town Harbour, South Africa. File photograph: iStock/Getty Images

Two people have died and a third has been injured while climbing on Table Mountain, a major tourist destination in the South African city of Cape Town.

Local media reports said two bodies were recovered on Tuesday morning after emergency responders abseiled from a cable car to rescue the survivor late on Monday.

After the rescue operation, hundreds of tourists who had been stranded for hours on top of the mountain were ferried to the bottom in cable cars.

The African News Agency said the three climbers were using ropes when they fell and two died when they hit the ground.

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The agency quoted Merle Collins, a spokeswoman for South Africa's national parks service, as saying they had been abseiling down the mountain. – AP