tourist killed table mountain

Russian tourist stabbed on Table Mountain died for cash, phone, biltong, prunes and bottled water

Russian tourist Ivan Ivanov, who was killed on a popular Cape Town hiking trail in 2019, was robbed of small items including biltong and a bag of prunes.  

This is detailed in a three-page indictment against his alleged killers who are on trial in the high court in Cape Town.

Sinaye Mposelwa, Matthew Giyo and Franklin Isaacs were arrested for the 47-year-old’s murder.  

Ivanov was stabbed to death while walking on the East Fort Hiking Trail, Chapman’s Peak Drive, on July 27 2019, according to the indictment.

The trio allegedly killed him by “inflicting multiple penetrating incised wounds to his body”.

Trio accused of killing Russian tourist abandon bail applications

They each face murder and assault charges and a “minimum sentence of life imprisonment”.

Mposelwa, Giyo and Isaacs are accused of stealing Ivanov’s possessions “with force”.  

“The aggravating circumstances are that grievous bodily harm, which caused the death of the victim, was inflicted upon him before and/or during, and/or after the robbery,” the indictment reads.  

They stole 34 items from Ivanov, including R910 in cash, a Blackberry cellphone and pouch, a green poncho, first aid kit, biltong, a small ball, three clear bags, a small packet of tissues, a bag of prunes and two bottles of mineral water.  

Second man arrested for murder of Russian hiker on Table Mountain

Mposelwa’s trial has been separated from Giyo and Isaacs’ after he pleaded guilty to the charges on Monday.

Giyo and Isaacs pleaded not guilty and their trial started on Tuesday.  

Mposelwa admitted hiding in the bush along the hiking trail with the intent of robbing anyone who walked past. He confirmed the attackers had knives and were prepared to stab if a victim resisted.

Ivanov did resist, he added.

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Russian tourist stabbed on Table Mountain died for cash, phone, biltong, prunes and bottled water

Russian tourist Ivan Ivanov, who was killed on a popular Cape Town hiking trail in 2019, was robbed of small items including biltong and a bag of prunes.  

This is detailed in a three-page indictment against his alleged killers who are on trial in the high court in Cape Town.

Sinaye Mposelwa, Matthew Giyo and Franklin Isaacs were arrested for the 47-year-old’s murder.  

Ivanov was stabbed to death while walking on the East Fort Hiking Trail, Chapman’s Peak Drive, on July 27 2019, according to the indictment.

The trio allegedly killed him by “inflicting multiple penetrating incised wounds to his body”.

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They each face murder and assault charges and a “minimum sentence of life imprisonment”.

Mposelwa, Giyo and Isaacs are accused of stealing Ivanov’s possessions “with force”.  

“The aggravating circumstances are that grievous bodily harm, which caused the death of the victim, was inflicted upon him before and/or during, and/or after the robbery,” the indictment reads.  

They stole 34 items from Ivanov, including R910 in cash, a Blackberry cellphone and pouch, a green poncho, first aid kit, biltong, a small ball, three clear bags, a small packet of tissues, a bag of prunes and two bottles of mineral water.  

• Police search for missing woman focuses on Table Mountain area

Mposelwa’s trial has been separated from Giyo and Isaacs’ after he pleaded guilty to the charges on Monday.

Giyo and Isaacs pleaded not guilty and their trial started on Tuesday.  

Mposelwa admitted hiding in the bush along the hiking trail with the intent of robbing anyone who walked past. He confirmed the attackers had knives and were prepared to stab if a victim resisted.

Ivanov did resist, he added.

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Table Mountain mugger falls to his death after being pepper-sprayed by hiker

Another shocking incident on the increasingly crime-plagued trails of the South African mountain

The recent spate of muggings on Table Mountain continues with another shocking incident, which resulted in the death of a mugger, on the same day as a hikers united for a rally on the mountain to raise awareness of safety issues in the area.

According to South Africa’s Times Live , two muggers attacked a group of hikers on the Kasteelpoort trail near Camps Bay in Cape Town. But one of the muggers was pepper-spayed by one of his intended victims, and as he tried to run from the scene, he tripped and fell to his death.

In a statement, the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) said: “Details provided by the victims are that two suspected robbers stole cellphones, a watch, cash and jewellery. During the robbery, one suspect was pepper-sprayed whilst trying to flee and fell. This fall seems to have led to the death of the suspect.” 

The incident happened last Sunday, ironically the same day as a rally organized by Take Back Our Mountain and the Hikers Network to raise awareness and educate hikers about safety took place in the Table Mountain National Park.

They were joined by two hikers from the UK, Don and Yvonne Cormack, who returned to Cape Tape for the first time since they were mugged on Table Mountain in January 2018, when Don sustained nine stab wounds and Yvonne was injured while defending him.

“After our incident, I remember thinking I’m not coming back to Cape Town,” Don told Cape Town Etc . “A few days later, I had such support from fellow hikers. There was always someone at my bedside, giving Yvonne support while I was in the hospital.

“I feel that if I didn’t hike, the attackers would have won. It is such a beautiful country and they (criminals) are robbing it of all of its dignity. And for what, a camera or watch?”

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Sadly, the Table Mountain crimewave shows no signs of abating. Just this past December two men who robbed a group of mountain bikers at knifepoint, while another group of hikers was attacked on the jeep track close to Military Road on the slopes above Tamboerskloof.

Andy Davies, chairperson of Friends of Table Mountain, says the group has identified 16 hotspots in the park.

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Two climbers die while 'abseiling' down South Africa's Table Mountain

During a rescue operation, about 500 tourists were stranded at the top of the mountain for hours before being moved to the bottom.

Tuesday 2 January 2018 13:13, UK

Two climbers apparently abseiling down the side of South Africa's Table Mountain have died after falling to the ground, while a third hiker survived.

The bodies of a female tourist and a local male guide were recovered after emergency services also abseiled down and rescued a second female tourist on Tuesday morning, said reports.

The accident happened on one of the country's major tourist attractions overlooking Cape Town.

The three hikers were using ropes when they fell and two of the climbers died after hitting the ground, the African News Agency has said.

It said South African National Parks spokeswoman Merle Collins confirmed they had been abseiling down the side of the mountain.

They had apparently been at an area known as "Arrow Final".

During the rescue operation, around 500 tourists were left stranded at the top of the mountain for hours before they were moved to the bottom in cable cars.

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In a statement, Table Mountain Cableway, which operates the cable car service, said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the two climbers who lost their lives.

"The hikers were spotted on the cliff's edge by Cableway staff at 5.15pm.

"After metro rescue conducted an assessment of the situation, we suspended operations at 6.15pm and assisted getting paramedics to the scene. Suspending operations also helped to limit the number of visitors at the top station.

"Due to the location of the climbers it was a very difficult and dangerous operation for mountain rescue.

"We are enormously grateful for the work of mountain rescue who risked their lives in this operation.

"We also thank them for assistance in providing transport to our visitors who did not have their own transport and required lifts home."

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Table Mountain attacks highlight S. Africa's crime threat to tourism

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Hikers hit the trail before dawn at South Africa's natural jewel Table Mountain, but instead of simply trekking its rugged landscape they were also demonstrating against a surge in attacks on walkers and tourists.

Pensioner Mary Lloyd, among the roughly 50 gathered to sound the alarm at one of Africa's most visited landmarks, had only weeks prior become one of the victims.

The 75-year-old was on her daily walk along the massif's footpaths when two men pounced on her -- grabbing her phone and threatening to cut off her fingers off when she couldn't remove her rings fast enough.

"Mostly I feel absolutely angry because it has taken away my freedom on the mountain. I don't feel safe as I walk," said Lloyd at the protest near Cape Town.

With South Africa's tourist season near its peak, guides worry about taking hikers onto one of Africa's major draws at dawn and dusk because of the risk.

Cape Town authorities say there have been more than 80 attacks on the mountain paths this year, most since August.

'We want to feel safe'

Police and park rangers now carry out special patrols in the park, while drones and helicopters buzz around the 1,086 metre high plateau.

Three park rescuers were robbed after carrying out one night time operation.

Authorities say several arrests have been carried out but still recommend that walkers tackle the three-hour trek in a group and in daylight hours.

Munashe Serime, a 25-year-old trainee Cape Town lawyer, said people should always be vigilant on the mountain.

"I think people underestimate, seeing that when you (are) hiking you have your guard down," Serime added.

Mountain guide Kathy Leverton, 39, considers the mountain paths to be her "office" but is now nervous when she enters.

"Everybody wants to feel safe going to their office," she said.

"You definitely think twice now when people want to book tours for sunrise in particular, because it does mean waiting around in the morning in the dark."

Andy Davies, chairman of Friends of Table Mountain, told the demonstration that it was "unacceptable to be too scared to go up our mountain. We as a public need to stand up and fight for the right to use our mountain safely."

Wearing head lamps for light and carrying banners, the hiker demonstrators marched to the top of the mountain on the Lion's Heat route where many hikers have fallen prey to attacks.

"For the residents of the city, it's a place of peace and tranquility where we can escape work stress and life stress," said Davies.

"It's also a very, very important tourist attraction. And it's incredibly important that we take care of the mountain and that we ensure that anybody who visits the mountain feels safe."

'Killing golden goose'

The Table mountain national park attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, many from abroad. As the southern hemisphere summer season hits its end-of-year-peak, the travel industry is worried.

Jean-Pierre Smith, a Cape Town councillor responsible for the city's safety and security, said up to 240,000 people in Cape Town earn a living from tourism but highlighted recent arrests.

"Whilst an attack on a tourist is not more important than an attack on a local, it comes with an additional risk to the city of this investment in our tourism," he said.

South Africa had four million tourist arrivals in the first six months of the year. The industry makes a bigger contribution to the economy than agriculture.

But rising crime is a growing concern across the country. Police have also stepped up patrols on the main road from the capital, Pretoria, to the Sun City resort and nearby national parks after gun-wielding raiders attacked buses of foreign visitors.

In one case, the driver of a bus carrying 32 Austrians kept going until the Sun City police station after shots were fired at the vehicle, police said.

Last week, four masked gunmen stopped a smaller bus on the road and took jewels, cash, phones and bank cards from 11 people, police added.

People like Leverton, who depend on tourism, said she would not give up but is frustrated.

Leverton said bookings are down but she is determined not to be "trapped".

"I don't want to be a prisoner. So I will still come out and I will still do my thing and go on my hikes and take my guests," she insisted.

"Table Mountain is one of the top three earning national parks in the country. It's kind of killing the golden goose by not maintaining safety."

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Home » American Tourist Attacked on Table Mountain Trail in Cape Town

American Tourist Attacked on Table Mountain Trail in Cape Town

American tourist, Eric Czuleger, says he had to fight for his life after being attacked by a knifeman on Saturday as he hiked on a trail below Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. The 33-year-old senior content editor was ambushed as he walked alone on Signal Hill when a man, wearing a mask, leapt […]

American tourist, Eric Czuleger, says he had to fight for his life after being attacked by a knifeman on Saturday as he hiked on a trail below Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

The 33-year-old senior content editor was ambushed as he walked alone on Signal Hill when a man, wearing a mask, leapt out from under a fallen tree and apparently slashed at him repeatedly with a large knife.

Eric says the man looked to be in his twenties, and hit him over the head.

Eric, who hails from Los Angeles, said: “I was able to run off but he chased me… (and) I tripped and fell down the side of the slope towards Green Point, and when I fell I lost my spectacles.

“He caught me and I asked him what he wanted.” The attacker – who sadly appears to have been a desperate homeless man – demanded that Eric hand over his cell phone and money… to which Eric said he would IF the man would help him find his glasses.

“It was really bizarre… as to my surprise he agreed, and started looking for them… and while he was bent down looking I kicked him with all my might in the face.

“I managed to get the knife off him and I think I concussed him; and I was bleeding heavily from the head and I sat on him and overpowered him.

“The knife broke and he just started crying hysterically and pleaded for me to give him something so I gave him my jersey and jacket and some cigarettes.

“I then ran off for help at a nearby home where I could wash the blood off my head and I was given a lift to the police station and then to my accommodation,” he said.

Eric, who studied at California State University and completed a three-year Master of Studies degree in writing at Oxford University in the UK, is taking a break from work to travel, and and had spent two months in Cape Town.

According to IOL , Eric will be leaving South Africa tomorrow. He apparently also had his credit cards stolen when he first arrived in SA… but despite the crimes, he has praised Cape Town and Capetonians who came to his aid. Eric said: “You have a wonderful city full of great people. That’s evidenced by this huge outpouring of support.”

Crime in South Africa is a concern for tourists (and locals!). According to the SA Police Service, there are 58 murders a day in the country.

SANParks (South African National Parks) who control the national park, and whose rangers patrol the hiking routes, said: “We are sorry this happened but we advise people to never hike on their own.”

To use any of the text or photos, please contact  Jamie Pyatt News Ltd.

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Two Killed Climbing Cape Town’s Table Mountain

Per a report by the BBC , the bodies of a Japanese tourist and his local guide have been recovered from Cape Town, South Africa's Table Mountain after they died from a fall while scaling the mountain on Monday.

The accident, and subsequent rescue attempts, ultimately left hundreds of tourists stranded atop Table Mountain. 

According to the report, the Table Mountain Cableway–which ferries thousands of people up-and-down the mountain every day–was out of order for about four hours as rescuers rappelled from it to attempt to save the climbers. While they were unsuccessful in saving the deceased Japanese tourist and his guide, the rescue crews were able to save a third, unidentified climbing partner. 

The rescue crews were able to rescue the third climber late Monday night, at which point the Cableway service was able to resume, allowing some 500 tourists who had been trapped atop the mountain to finally get down.

After an initial unsuccessful helicopter rescue, a team of about 30 eventually found the bodies of the deceased climbers just after first light Tuesday morning via the cable car system. 

An investigation surrounding the specifics of the deaths is underway, but local media reports no ropes had broken. 

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Two dead and hundreds stranded in dramatic Table Mountain rescue in South Africa

Two people have died and a third has been injured in a dramatic search and rescue operation on South Africa's famed Table Mountain in Cape Town.

Local media reported that the bodies of a local guide and a male Japanese tourist were recovered on Tuesday morning (local time).

Emergency crews abseiled from cable cars to rescue a third woman, a Japanese climber, in a dramatic overnight rescue.

Images have circulated on social media of the cliff-side operation, which halted cable car services, stranding hundreds of tourists on top of the mountain for hours.

They were ferried to the bottom in cable cars in an operation that ended well after midnight.

Table Mountain is a major tourist destination and attracts more than 1 million visitors annually.

It is the occasional scene of search and rescue operations because of hiking or climbing mishaps, but the effort to help the trio of climbers was among the more complex.

Climbers were secured with ropes just below the cable car station at the top of Table Mountain when they fell, possibly after one of them lost their footing and dragged the others down, said Johan Marais, spokesman for Wilderness Search and Rescue.

Still attached to the ropes, two of them ended up partly supported by a ledge on the cliff face, and tourists in a cable car saw one administering CPR to the other.

A rescue helicopter flew to the area, but Wilderness Search and Rescue members concluded that it would be easier to reach the climbers by lowering themselves on ropes from an opening in the floor of a cable car positioned above the accident site.

After determining that two climbers were dead, they transferred the injured survivor to a harness that was raised into the cable car.

"It was difficult to communicate with her because of the language difference," Mr Marais said.

The woman was taken to a Cape Town hospital and is in a stable condition.

The bodies of her companions were recovered after the stranded tourists were taken off the mountain.

The climbers were traversing a mountain route called Arrow Final.

The African News Agency reports Merle Collins, a spokeswoman for South Africa's national parks service, said the trio had been abseiling down the mountain.

About 30 volunteers were involved in the rescue and recovery operation.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, a helicopter rescued a hiker who suffered an injury on Table Mountain.

Mr Marais said Cape Town residents "tend to think of Table Mountain as part of their backyard or something in their front garden".

"It's not that," he said.

"It's an actual big mountain with large rocks and all the things that go with a mountain."

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“Visit Table Mountain at your own risk”: Safety group lets rip after weekend attacks

The Table Mountain Watch team issued a fierce statement over the weekend, after a Ukranian businessman was killed during a hike at the tourist hot-spot.

A prominent safety group who monitor crime in the Table Mountain National Park have released a fiery statement on their social media pages , slamming the government and local authorities for failing to protect visitors.

The embittered post was shared on Sunday afternoon, just a day after a Ukranian businessman was stabbed to death while hiking a trail in Hout Bay. His belongings were taken, a nd he was attacked just a short distance from the communal car park . Another victim was also mugged in the East Fort area just a few hours later.

Tourist murder: Crime across Table Mountain

The heinous actions fit a pattern of crime which has blighted the region for the best part of two years. Both tourists and locals have been subjected to brutal attacks, with multiple fatalities being reported since the end of 2017. Table Mountain Watch claim that hikers have “been left on their own” in terms of safety:

“Recent attacks, going back to late 2017, displayed the same tendencies of anger, cruelty, savagery, barbarity, hate and horror. As Park users, after much discussion and communication today, we are now firmly of the belief that we are on our own when it comes to security solutions.” “Table Mountain National Park is a crime hot-spot. You enter here fully at your own risk. If it means hiring our own security organisations to accompany us, then so be it. Discuss weapons of choice, move in bigger groups and consult on your options, rights and methods.”

Why safety groups are encouraging “self-defence”

Table Mountain Watch essentially feel abandoned by the various authorities who should be making this iconic landmark a safe place to visit. They have asked why the Department of Tourism has defaulted on a safety plan. They are upset that SAPS aren’t holding any forums on the matter. And, the group want management intervention from SANParks.

The situation has become such a concern in the sprawling reserve, even the UK Foreign Office has issued a warning to visitors of Table Mountain – their travel advice is usually reserved for regions like Hillbrow and Berea, crime-ridden areas of South Africa’s inner-cities.

“Hikers should stick to popular trails and hike in large groups taking local advice where available on security. There have been violent attacks on hikers and tourists on Table Mountain. Take care in quieter areas of the Park, especially early in the morning or just before the park closes.” UK Foreign Office

Safety tips for visiting Table Mountain National Park

For those planning to hike across the mountain range, we put together a few safety tips for visitors earlier this year :

• Tell somebody where you are going and what time you expect to be back in the range of signal.
• If you don’t know the route, don’t take it.
• If you are a novice, don’t hike alone. Even for experienced hikers, it is recommended that you hike in a group.
• Don’t carry valuables.
• Make sure you have the emergency numbers saved.
• Make use of the  hiker safety app .

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Things to Do in Elektrostal, Russia - Elektrostal Attractions

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5. Museum of Labor Glory

7. Galereya Kino

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10. Gandikap

11. papa lounge bar, 12. karaoke bar.

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