The injured man is winched into the Irish Coastguard helicopter. Photo: Mourne MRT

A walker was seriously injured in a fall in the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.

The man is believed to have fallen up to 50m (165ft) at the water slabs in the Annalong Valley on Monday.

Mourne Mountain Rescue Team was alerted about 4.30pm and treated the walker for injuries to his head, neck and chest.

A team spokesperson said: “Due to the nature of the casualty’s injuries a helicopter evacuation was requested and the casualty was packaged in preparation.” The Dublin Coastguard flew to the site and airlifted the man to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

A Northern Ireland Ambulance Service hazardous area response team paramedic and ambulance crew members joined 18 volunteers from the Mourne team in the operation to rescue the stricken walker.

The rescue took about 4½ hours.