A powered exoskeleton walks an exhausted hiker down Table Mountain

Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) in the Western Cape used a powered exoskeleton in a mountain rescue on Saturday 26 September 2026, the first time an exoskeleton has been deployed during a rescue operation in South Africa, according to the team.

The call came from the family of a 47-year-old hiker who had become exhausted descending Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain. The family raised the alarm before her condition turned critical. The rescue team, which included a paramedic from the Western Cape Government’s Health and Wellness emergency medical services, reached her and fitted a Hypershell exoskeleton, a lightweight battery-powered device worn around the hips and thighs that adds powered assistance to each step.

With the device on, the hiker walked the rest of the way down on her own feet, the team alongside her, instead of being carried or stretchered out of the gorge. The operation ended after 11 pm.

The device served here as rescue equipment rather than medical hardware: it did not treat an injury, it supplied the leg power the hiker no longer had, and turned an evacuation into an assisted walk out.