Mourne MRT

Outcome: The fire was believed to be caused by deliberate ignition and required significant resources from emergency services.

A walker was rescued from the Annalong Valley area of the Mourne Mountains after sustaining a leg injury on Saturday, April 18th. The team located and treated the individual before arranging for helicopter evacuation to Donard Park.

Outcome: Evacuated by helicopter and transferred to hospital

A walker required assistance after camping in the Mourne Mountains during a yellow weather warning for heavy rain. The team was called out when the individual became unable to cross swollen rivers in the Annalong Valley. Volunteers were able to reach and escort the camper safely off the hill by avoiding river crossings.

Outcome: Rescued safely

A group of campers required rescue from the Mourne Mountains late on 6 August after becoming caught out by rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. They were located by Mourne Mountain Rescue Team in the Bloody Bridge valley showing signs of exposure, and were safely evacuated and rewarmed. The team emphasised the importance of proper equipment and preparation for mountain conditions.

Outcome: group safely evacuated and rewarmed at base

A walker fell while descending Slieve Doan in the Mourne Mountains on Friday afternoon and sustained a lower leg injury. The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team responded and a HM Coastguard helicopter was tasked to the scene, evacuating the casualty to hospital.

Outcome: casualty evacuated by helicopter to hospital

A walker slipped while descending from the summit of Slieve Lamagan and became crag-fast in a precarious and dangerous position on the mountain. The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team and a SAR helicopter from Dublin attended, and the casualty was airlifted to safety and walked off uninjured.

Outcome: casualty airlifted by SAR helicopter and walked to safety uninjured

Two teenagers became lost on Slieve Donard in deteriorating weather and darkness after reaching the summit and struggling to descend. The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team attended and treated them for exposure before walking them off the mountain to safety.

Outcome: both teenagers treated for exposure and walked off the mountain safely

Three teenagers were rescued from the slopes of Slieve Donard after getting into difficulty during challenging conditions over the weekend. The rescue took place in winter weather on the mountain in County Down.

Outcome: rescued

Two separate mountain rescue incidents occurred in the Mournes on Saturday. A walker suffered a leg injury from a fall on Slieve Bearnagh Summit Tor and was airlifted by Irish Coast Guard helicopter, while another walker who became ill during descent from the Gap of Pollaphuca was rescued and transferred to hospital by UK Coast Guard helicopter.

Outcome: both casualties airlifted by helicopter and transferred for medical care

Mourne Mountain Rescue Team responded to two separate incidents on the Mourne Mountains on Saturday. One casualty sustained a leg injury following a fall, while another person fell ill. Both were rescued during helicopter operations.

Outcome: both rescued by helicopter

A photographer from Fermanagh broke his ankle while descending Slieve Donard in the Mourne mountains on 9 February 2023. After initially attempting to descend unaided in severe conditions, he was airlifted by Coast Guard helicopter to hospital where he received treatment and was discharged with a plaster cast.

Outcome: airlifted by Coast Guard helicopter to hospital, treated and discharged with plaster cast

Two children who became separated during an orienteering exercise at Tollymore Forest Park were reported missing on the evening of 14 June. They were located safe and well approximately two miles from their last known location just before midnight, with assistance from the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, search dogs, and police air support.

Outcome: both children located safe and well

A major wildfire in the Mourne Mountains started deliberately in the early hours of 23 April and covered 3.5 square kilometres. Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, supported by numerous partner agencies including Mourne Mountain Rescue, completed firefighting operations on 25 April after mobilising over 100 firefighters and specialist equipment.

Outcome: fire extinguished after 2.5 days; no casualties reported

Mourne Mountain Rescue Team attended five separate incidents on Wednesday, including three walkers airlifted by rescue helicopter from Slieve Donard. Additional incidents involved walkers in difficulty on Slieve Binnian and a walker with a lower leg injury in the Glen River area, all attributed by the team to inadequate preparation for winter conditions.

Outcome: three airlifted by helicopter, walkers assisted or handed to NIAS

A teenager hiking in the Mourne mountains was struck by a sheep that fell from a crag near Hare's Gap on Slieve Bearnagh. He was evacuated by seventeen Mourne Mountain Rescue Team members and taken to hospital, where he was treated and discharged. The sheep was believed to be uninjured.

Outcome: casualty taken to hospital, treated and discharged

A nineteen-member Mourne Mountain Rescue Team responded to a police alert for a high-risk missing person in the Mournes on Thursday night. The operation lasted approximately two hours, after which the person was located and transferred to hospital for assessment.

Outcome: person located and transferred to hospital for assessment

A group of approximately 70 Army cadets from England, including 58 children aged 12 to 17, encountered treacherous weather on the Mourne Mountains in County Down. An emergency operation was launched involving coastguard, ambulance, helicopter and mountain rescue teams; 17 children were stretchered off the mountain with 16 cases of hypothermia and minor injuries including ankle injuries and cold-related conditions reported.

Outcome: 17 casualties stretchered off the mountain and treated; no serious or life-threatening injuries reported

A 73-strong group of Army cadets encountered difficulties during a training exercise in the Mourne Mountains in treacherous weather. Eight cadets were taken to hospital with ankle injuries and exposure-related conditions; 17 required stretcher evacuation. All were subsequently discharged and returned to their base camp.

Outcome: eight cadets hospitalised with ankle injuries and exposure; all discharged and returned to camp

Four teenage scouts from 1st Tandragee Scout Group came across an injured walker on the Bloody Bridge track in the Mourne Mountains on Saturday morning. They provided first aid using their scarves and a rucksack, then descended to find mobile reception and called mountain rescue. The casualty was treated and evacuated by stretcher to hospital.

Outcome: casualty evacuated by stretcher to hospital

Four Scouts discovered an injured walker with a lower leg injury near Bloody Bridge in the Mournes in June. Unable to contact rescue services by phone or radio, they provided first aid using their neck scarves and fashioned a stretcher from their equipment to carry him down the mountain to a point where they could summon help from Mourne Mountain Rescue Team. The boys were subsequently awarded special recognition for their quick thinking and selfless actions.

Outcome: casualty assisted down mountain by Scouts, evacuated by Mourne Mountain Rescue Team

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

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

Seven teenage girls, aged 16 and 17, were rescued from the Mourne mountains after becoming lost in poor weather and limited visibility. The group, on a Girls Brigade camping trip, called for help and sheltered in a tent near Blue Lough. Two girls were treated for exposure, with one hospitalised as a precaution, but all were reunited with their families.

Outcome: all rescued; two treated for exposure, one taken to hospital as precaution

A father and teenage son were rescued after becoming lost in the Mourne Mountains during a camping trip. They went missing for 13 hours after poor weather conditions caught them by surprise on Monday, but made the correct decision to pitch their tent and wait for help. Both were found exhausted and suffering from mild hypothermia but were otherwise uninjured.

Outcome: both rescued, exhausted and mildly hypothermic

A 71-year-old man went missing from a nursing home in Castlewellan on the evening of 23 February 2000. A large-scale search involving approximately 70 people, including mountain rescue teams, police, tracker dogs, and an army helicopter with thermal imaging equipment, was launched. He was found safe in fields near the home early on 24 February, suffering from mild exposure.

Outcome: found safe with mild exposure, taken to hospital for observation