A TOTAL of 58 members of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Rwenzori Mountaineering Services (RMS) were deployed to carry a Dutch tourist down the Rwenzori Mountains.

The unnamed tourist was rescued six hours after he fell into a crevice during his expedition in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park at midday on Monday, according to UWA chief, Moses Mapesa.

He said on Tuesday that the tourist and another were descending after a five-day trek around the 5,109 meter-high Margherita Peak.

The incident occurred near Elena Peak when he slipped off a cliff and fell into a crevice.

Mapesa said the tourist in his early 50s was unable to walk because of his injured limbs.

“We deployed 58 people to carry him back to base,” the RMS acting director, Robert Mulekya, said.

He said the tourist was heavy and unable to walk, so he had to be carried in turns during the trek that takes several days.