Missing Comrades runner found disorientated and hypothermic by construction workers

A runner who went missing after completing the Comrades Marathon was found by construction workers in a hypothermic state.

ALS Paramedics/Supplied

Moira Harding,who disappeared on Sunday afternoon,was found lying on her back close to the NSRI base in Durban.Construction workers initially mistook her for someone out training before realising she was in distress and alerted NSRI staff.Emergency services were called,and Harding was rushed to Umhlanga Netcare Hospital. A Comrades Marathon runner who went missing after completing the gruelling race,was found by construction workers in a hypothermic state on Monday morning.

Moira Harding,was found near the National Sea Rescue (NSRI) base in The Point,Durban - more than 15 hours after she completed the race.

The base is roughly 7km from the finish point at People’s Park.

The workers initially thought she was just out training,but soon realised she was in distress.

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Speaking to News24,NSRI Durban coxswain Lorenzo Taverna-Turisan said he was at the base doing routine maintenance around 7:30 when the runner was discovered.

“The security guards from Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) came through and said there was a lady who they think is hypothermic,and they think she has been training. They took me where she was lying,and then I recognised her comrade’s outfit and the number,” he added.

Taverna-Turisan said that after all the social media posts about a missing Comrades runner,he recognised her immediately.

He then contacted emergency teams,including paramedics and the SAPS eThekwini metro search-and-rescue teams.

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Taverna-Turisan said that while waiting for responders,he performed basic first aid. As he could see that she had been exposed to extreme cold weather conditions,he ran back to the base to get a blanket to cover her.

“She was lying on her back. She was semi-conscious and very hypothermic,and we believe that was because she had been out in the cold the whole night,” he said.

He added that while there had been a storm in the morning,it was luckily not too cold in Durban.

“She was close to the water’s edge,and luckily,she didn’t fall into the harbour. How she got there,I don’t know.”

Taverna-Turisan said he assumed Harding had walked down along the promenade before ending up near their base.

He added that Harding was also a good friend of one of their station commanders at station 10,and that it was possible that she could have been walking down there to find a safe space.

“It was just a fluke that the maintenance guys found her and raised the alarm,and everything went on from there.”

Tavern-Turisan said an ambulance had been dispatched to the base.

He said that Harding would initially have been sent to St Augustine’s Hospital,but due to the seriousness of her condition,a helicopter was called in,and she was taken to Umhlanga Netcare Hospital.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon confirmed that Harding lived in Kommetjie,Cape Town.

ALS Paramedics,who responded to the scene,said they had received multiple calls about sightings of the missing runner after the marathon yesterday afternoon.

“Paramedics,together with SAPS Search and Rescue and Metro Police Search and Rescue,proceeded to the end of Point Road near the NSRI base. On arrival,paramedics found the critically injured runner lying on the side of the jetty,” spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said.

NSRI Durban coxswain Lorenzo Taverna-Turisan.

Sakhiseni Nxumalo/News24

Jamieson said Advanced Life Support Paramedics had worked to stabilize the runner on the scene before the decision was made to bring an Aeromedical Helicopter to rapidly transport the patient to a hospital for the urgent care she required.

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“Once stabilised on the scene,the patient was transported to the Helicopter,which had landed on Point Road. The circumstances leading up to the runner ending up at the Jetty is unknown; however,SAPS and necessary authorities will be investigating,” said Jamieson.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed the incident and said police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.

“She was found in the Point area of Durban. The woman is currently in hospital,and although she was found with no visible injuries,police will await a medical report,which will determine the police’s next course of action,” said Netshiunda.

Attempts to speak to some of the base workers who made the discovery,were unsuccessful.

Harding’s daughter,Jordi,confirmed that the runner had been found.