Rescuers stretcher the injured man from Brontë Waterfalls. Photo: Calder Valley SRT
Rescuers have thanked two boys who raised the alarm after finding an injured walker and who stayed to direct the team to the location.
The incident was one of two callouts Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team had to deal with simultaneously on Sunday.
The team was alerted to the injured 72-year-old in woods near Bingley, West Yorkshire, within minutes of being called out to a walker with a leg injury on the Brontë moors near Haworth.
The volunteer rescue team was called out at 12.20pm after the walker slipped at Brontë Waterfalls. While they were on their way to the man, ambulance controllers requested the team’s help with the second injured man.
Two of the team’s vehicles and 12 rescuers continued to the moorland incident and another vehicle diverted to the woodland casualty. After dropping off team members, a second vehicle made its way to Bingley.
A Calder Valley SRT spokesperson said: “Once on-scene at the Brontë Falls, team members headed direct to the casualty’s location to assess his injuries.
“Once treated for a possible dislocation and the casualty’s pain was under control, he was gently loaded on to a stretcher and carried up the hill to the team vehicle where he was loaded into the team Land Rover and transferred to Airedale Hospital for further treatment.
“Team members at this incident then stood down and headed back to our Mytholmroyd base and then onward to their homes.”
The rescue lasted almost three hours.
Meanwhile, 10 team members dealt with the injured man off Gilstead Lane in Bingley.
The spokesperson said: “Team members assisted the ambulance crew to treat the gentleman for hypothermia and a head injury, before packaging and evacuating the casualty to the ambulance waiting nearby.
“Quick thinking and prompt actions made for two successful simultaneous rescues.
“Calder Valley SRT would like to mention the young lads who found the gentleman and dialled 999, then waited at the road junction to wave team vehicles down at the correct side road to the nearest access point.”
The second rescue lasted 1¾ hours.
