The injured walker is winched into the RAF Sea King at Bleaberry Tarn. Photo: Cockermouth MRT
Three Lakeland hillgoers were airlifted in separate incidents after suffering injuries in falls.
The first casualty was a man running as a supporter in a Bob Graham Round attempt.
A spokesperson for Keswick Mountain Rescue Team said the runner made a navigational error during the night on Blencathra and fell into a gill, causing head injuries and a broken arm.
The team was alerted at ten to one this morning and 16 team members were joined by 14 colleagues from Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, along with three dogs and handlers from the Search and Rescue Dogs Association.
The man was found by rescuers in Gate Gill on what was described as very difficult ground and was treated at the scene before the combined teams managed to extricate the runner from the gill.
He was then winched on to a Sea King helicopter from RAF Boulmer and flown to Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, for treatment.
The rescue took six hours.
The Cockermouth team was again in action this afternoon after being called about 3pm to help a 66-year-old woman who suffered a suspected broken shoulder near Loft Beck, at the head of Ennerdale, above the Black Sail youth hostel.
Sixteen team members went to the walker’s aid and she was treated at the scene before being stretchered to a place where the air ambulance could land. She was then flown to hospital.
The Cockermouth team in action at the Loft Beck rescue. Photo: Cockermouth MRT
While the rescuers were at the scene in Ennerdale, they were alerted to a third casualty who had broken his leg while walking near Bleaberry Tarn on Red Pike, at the opposite end of the range where the injured woman was being treated.
Team members and the North West Air Ambulance went to the scene to treat the 30-year-old.
Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team requested the RAF Boulmer helicopter for the operation, and the Sea King winched the man aboard and airlifted him to hospital in Carlisle.
A total of 24 team members were involved in the last rescue.
- The Bob Graham Round involves running 119km (74 miles) across 42 Lakeland peaks in 24 hours. Support in the way of navigation, pacing, carrying of food and other logistical tasks, is permitted. Challengers start and finish at the Moot Hall in Keswick.
