A man was rescued from a tree in East London on Monday after his attempt to summit Mount Kenya was cancelled due to travel restrictions.
Gowan Klayman, 43, was close to his “summit” — an owl box he built 25m up a magnificent erythrina tree in his garden — when his spiked ice-climbing boot pierced a hornet’s nest and he was stung multiple times.
A firefighter, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said the aspirant mountaineer was fortunate that he had ice axes in both hands.
“I think they call it a ‘self arrest’ because when he fell he managed to hook one axe in a branch but the other axe got caught in his mountain pants and was stuck there,” the firefighter said.
“Unfortunately, the wasps were very angry and some got in where they should not.”
The firefighter described the rescue operation as “very tricky”.
"His wife was shouting at him from below that she had told him to run around the garden, and his dog was barking and also we had a small problem with our extender ladder.”
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she saw two of the man’s climbing friends race to the house and quickly climb up “with ropes and things” to cut him free.
However, a spokesperson said a municipal rescue team got to Klayman first.
“A man was treated for swelling in the torso and below area. He was first tested to see if he had the Covid-19 virus.
“It was of great help that he was wearing his high-altitude oxygen mask at the time, which assisted in sanitising the scene.”
The spokesperson warned citizens to desist from creating unorthodox ways of releasing stress, saying an angler in Cambridge managed to hook himself in the ear while casting from his lounge couch and an adventure biker was arrested after a “wheelie on his bar went wrong and he crashed into his neighbour’s illegal beer-brewing kit, which led to a brawl”.
A swimmer was treated for mild concussion when the stretchy surfboard leash she was using as resistance snapped and she hit her head against the pool edge. The pool was only 4m long.
A special appeal was also made to skydiving, kiteboarding, cage-fighting and homing pigeon enthusiasts.
“Please, whatever you are thinking of doing during this lockdown period, just don’t!”
Avid East London mountaineer rescued from garden tree
Image: Christopher Burns / Unsplash
A man was rescued from a tree in East London on Monday after his attempt to summit Mount Kenya was cancelled due to travel restrictions.
Gowan Klayman, 43, was close to his “summit” — an owl box he built 25m up a magnificent erythrina tree in his garden — when his spiked ice-climbing boot pierced a hornet’s nest and he was stung multiple times.
A firefighter, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said the aspirant mountaineer was fortunate that he had ice axes in both hands.
“I think they call it a ‘self arrest’ because when he fell he managed to hook one axe in a branch but the other axe got caught in his mountain pants and was stuck there,” the firefighter said.
“Unfortunately, the wasps were very angry and some got in where they should not.”
The firefighter described the rescue operation as “very tricky”.
"His wife was shouting at him from below that she had told him to run around the garden, and his dog was barking and also we had a small problem with our extender ladder.”
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she saw two of the man’s climbing friends race to the house and quickly climb up “with ropes and things” to cut him free.
However, a spokesperson said a municipal rescue team got to Klayman first.
“A man was treated for swelling in the torso and below area. He was first tested to see if he had the Covid-19 virus.
“It was of great help that he was wearing his high-altitude oxygen mask at the time, which assisted in sanitising the scene.”
The spokesperson warned citizens to desist from creating unorthodox ways of releasing stress, saying an angler in Cambridge managed to hook himself in the ear while casting from his lounge couch and an adventure biker was arrested after a “wheelie on his bar went wrong and he crashed into his neighbour’s illegal beer-brewing kit, which led to a brawl”.
A swimmer was treated for mild concussion when the stretchy surfboard leash she was using as resistance snapped and she hit her head against the pool edge. The pool was only 4m long.
A special appeal was also made to skydiving, kiteboarding, cage-fighting and homing pigeon enthusiasts.
“Please, whatever you are thinking of doing during this lockdown period, just don’t!”
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