Incident reports
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April 2016
2 incidents climber/walker fall Highlands
A walker fell on Drochaid Ghlas, a subsidiary summit of Ben Cruachan, and became suspended upside down when his foot became wedged in the rock. After several hours hanging above a steep drop in poor weather, Oban Mountain Rescue Team hauled him back up to the ridge and carried him down by stretcher before he was airlifted to hospital by Coastguard helicopter.
Outcome: casualty hauled back up and evacuated by helicopter to hospital
severe hypothermia Northern Ireland Serious incident
A 16-year-old student from Royal School, Dungannon, suffered severe hypothermia and lost consciousness during a Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the Mourne mountains on 2 April 2016. Several group members also experienced mild hypothermia when conditions deteriorated near Slieve Beg. The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team was called and all 11 students were located and treated; the affected student was stretchered down and recovered at home without requiring hospital admission.
Outcome: casualty stretchered down and evacuated, no hospital treatment required, made good recovery at home
March 2016
4 incidents missing persons Highlands Serious incident
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team found a technical ice-axe on the North Face of Ben Nevis below The Shroud and Boomers Requiem. The team is seeking the owner to help eliminate them from an ongoing search for missing climbers Rachel Slater and Tim Newton from Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Outcome: ongoing search
injured hillwalker Highlands
A group of University of Stirling students raised the alarm at around 6pm after one member fell while descending Dumyat in failing light. The group had inadvertently taken a steeper route and one student sustained a minor head graze. The Ochils Mountain Rescue Team assisted the quartet down the hill.
Outcome: assisted walk down with minor head injury
injured walker Scotland Serious incident
A woman fell 100–150 metres near the summit of Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran on Monday afternoon, sustaining various injuries. She was winched to safety by coastguard search and rescue helicopter, and the rest of her party were guided down by team members.
Outcome: casualty airlifted by helicopter
body recovery Highlands Serious incident
Mountain rescuers recovered the body of a 48-year-old man found near the summit of Ben Lomond on Friday. Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
Outcome: body recovered by mountain rescue team
February 2016
4 incidents lost climbers in extreme weather Highlands Serious incident
Two brothers were caught in a severe blizzard on Ben Nevis with whiteout conditions, heavy snow, and temperatures around -20°C with windchill. They became lost and built a snow cave before attempting to reach the summit shelter, where they were found by Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team after several hours. Both were evacuated by helicopter and suffered no serious injuries.
Outcome: located in summit shelter and evacuated by helicopter
avalanche Highlands Serious incident
A climber died in an avalanche on Creag Meagaidh in Lochaber while climbing with a companion. The 54-year-old was airlifted to hospital but died despite emergency response from multiple mountain rescue teams. His climbing partner survived with serious injuries.
Outcome: casualty died in hospital; companion airlifted and survived with serious injuries
boy stuck in mud Peak District
An 11-year-old boy was rescued after becoming stuck in mud up to his waist while playing with friends at a former tip site in Oldham. Emergency services including fire crews, paramedics, and Oldham Mountain Rescue worked together for 40 minutes to free him using shovels. He was treated for mild hypothermia and sore legs and taken to hospital as a precaution.
Outcome: freed after 40 minutes, treated for mild hypothermia and sore legs, taken to Royal Oldham Hospital as precaution
missing persons Highlands Serious incident
Two climbers from Bradford, Rachel Slater and Tim Newton, went missing on Ben Nevis on 15 February 2016 after failing to return from an outing. Mountain rescuers conducted ongoing search efforts in the Coire na Ciste area, hampered by hazardous weather including snow and high winds. The status of the couple remained unresolved at the time of reporting.
Outcome: unresolved search continuing
January 2016
7 incidents Climbing/Rescue North East
Mountain rescue volunteers assisted a young boy who became stuck on a climbing crag at the Drake Stone. The operation required rigging a technical rope system to safely lower him to ground level after a two-and-a-half-hour effort involving multiple agencies.
Outcome: Rescued safely
hypothermic walker Southern Uplands Serious incident
A walker found in severe hypothermia on the Border Ridge during the Spine Race on 16 January 2016 was treated at the Auchope Shelter and evacuated by Coastguard helicopter. The rescue team credited the mountain refuge hut with saving the casualty's life, and he was expected to make a full recovery.
Outcome: evacuated by Coastguard helicopter, expected to make full recovery
injured walker Northern Ireland
A walker fell while descending Slieve Binnian in the Mourne Mountains on Monday afternoon. Mourne Mountain Rescue Team located him within an hour despite difficult visibility and terrain, then evacuated him by stretcher over two and a half hours. The casualty sustained a lower right leg fracture and mild hypothermia but was successfully brought to safety.
Outcome: casualty evacuated by stretcher with fracture and mild hypothermia
lost walkers Highlands Serious incident
Two poorly equipped walkers became lost on Ben Lomond during descent in winter conditions and ended up at an isolated farm north of the mountain. Lomond Mountain Rescue Team located them at Comer Farm in the evening after a search involving ground teams and a helicopter. The walkers were found cold and wet but uninjured, having fallen several times during their descent in darkness.
Outcome: located at Comer Farm, cold and wet but uninjured
missing person Southern Uplands
An 85-year-old man with dementia went missing from a care home in West Linton on the evening of 6 January, having left inadequately dressed. He was found by Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team in woodland early the following morning after suffering a fall, and was evacuated by stretcher to hospital for treatment of hypothermia and observation.
Outcome: casualty evacuated by stretcher to Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for observation
hypothermia Snowdonia
Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team responded to two separate incidents on Crib Goch on New Year's Day, rescuing five people who had developed hypothermia after being caught in near storm-force winds. The team defended the walkers against criticism, noting that the weather deteriorated faster and more severely than forecast.
Outcome: five people rescued to safety
injured climber Highlands
A climber fell approximately 50 feet in Green Gully on Ben Nevis's North Face and sustained facial injuries. He and his companion climbed out via Number 3 Gully and were assisted by Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team and airlifted by helicopter to hospital.
Outcome: airlifted by helicopter to Belford Hospital
December 2015
4 incidents flooding emergency response Southern Uplands
Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team coordinated with multiple agencies during Storm Frank to assist with flood evacuation and welfare checks across the Scottish Borders. Team members helped residents evacuate from high-risk areas including Hawick and Peebles, assisted a driver trapped in floodwater at Stobo, and conducted door-to-door welfare checks until standing down on the evening of 30 December.
Outcome: residents evacuated to reception centres; stranded driver assisted by emergency services; welfare checks completed
lost hillwalker, flood assistance Snowdonia
Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation assisted multiple people over the weekend of 27–28 December 2015, including transporting a district nurse to a flooded village, searching for a missing driver (found safe), evacuating an elderly woman from a flooded home, and rescuing a 55-year-old man lost on the lower Glyder range. Team members also deployed to York to assist with flood rescue operations across Britain.
Outcome: lost walker safely escorted from mountain; flooded residents assisted and evacuated
animal rescue Snowdonia Serious incident
Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team rescued a flock of sheep stranded by flood water, ferrying them to safety in a dinghy in difficult weather conditions. One ewe died during the rescue operation, while surviving sheep were carried across stiles and transported to a nearby veterinary practice.
Outcome: sheep rescued by dinghy; one ewe died, survivors taken to veterinary care
flooding emergency Lake District
Cockermouth town centre was flooded with water reaching 3 feet depth following heavy rainfall, with over 30 people trapped in the Trout Hotel. Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, working with emergency services across Cumbria, evacuated residents from multiple streets and dealt with swift water rescue incidents throughout the day.
Outcome: residents evacuated from homes and hotel; reception centre established at Cockermouth school
November 2015
2 incidents injured hillwalker Highlands Serious incident
A hillwalker with chest injuries was rescued from a snow slope high on Ben Nevis's Observatory Gully during Storm Abigail on Thursday 12 November. The casualty was lowered to the CIC Hut before being helped off the mountain by Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team in atrocious weather conditions.
Outcome: casualty evacuated to CIC Hut and helped off mountain
crag-fast climbers Snowdonia
A couple in their 20s from London became stuck on 2nd Pinnacle Rib on Tryfan's east face after losing their way in darkness during a rock climb. Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue deployed 18 volunteers in a six-hour operation to extract them using rope systems; fog prevented helicopter assistance. Both climbers were safely brought down by midnight.
Outcome: both climbers extracted and assisted to summit, walked down via Western Gully
October 2015
1 incident climbers in difficulty Highlands
Four climbers spent a night on Ben Nevis after encountering difficulty during their descent in Observatory Gully. Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team located the party and assisted them to a location where a coastguard helicopter airlifted them from the mountain. None of the group sustained injuries.
Outcome: airlifted by coastguard helicopter, uninjured