Rescuers at the scene of the rescue near Sprinkling Tarn. Photo: Keswick MRT
A man was airlifted from a Lake District fell after becoming hypothermic while taking part in a Three Peaks Challenge.
Keswick Mountain Rescue Team was called out shortly after 5am on Sunday when the man got into difficulties on the path between Sprinkling Tarn and Sty Head.
A team spokesperson said he was obviously quite unwell.
The spokesperson said: “An initial team of five members set off, followed by a second vehicle with eight.
“As the team pushed on up the hill, further information suggested that the casualty was now semiconscious, and a decision was made to request a helicopter for swift evacuation.
“Once the team were on scene, the casualty was got into a casualty bag with heat packs, and a rapid assessment of his vital signs was made. He was then stretchered down near to Sty Head, to a point where the Rescue S-92 [the Coastguard helicopter] from Caernarfon could land.
He was flown to West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven for treatment. The aircraft then returned to airlift the team and its equipment back to Keswick. The spokesperson said the Coastguard’s crew’s help was much appreciated and saved a great deal of recovery time.
The rescue lasted almost 4¾ hours and involved 16 volunteers from Keswick MRT.
Team members had only recently returned to their beds after helping an ambulance crew retrieving an 18-year-old woman who had been drinking from near the top of Castlehead Wood, Keswick.
The team spokesperson said: “Things were delayed a bit because of difficulties with communications with ambulance control.
“A small team attended to assist, and carried the female out to the waiting ambulance at Springs Road. Not really our usual kind of job, but the crew would have struggled to get her down on the terrain, and we always like to try and help out.”
The incident involved 13 team members and lasted almost 2¼ hours.
The air ambulance and team members at the Castle Crag incident. Photo: Keswick MRT
On Saturday, Keswick MRT was called out shortly after 3pm to help a 70-year-old walker who fell more than 30ft on a Borrowdale fell.
The man slipped while coming down Castle Crag and took a tumbling 10m fall into a disused quarry, suffering a head injury.
The team spokesperson said: “Fortunately a group of walkers heard his shouts, and looked after him till the team appeared.
“The team set off to Grange with two vehicles full of personnel, and made their way swiftly up the Allerdale Ramble to access the casualty site.”
The North West Air Ambulance was also scrambled from its Blackpool base and flew to the scene.
The spokesperson said: “The tam splinted the casualty into a vacuum mat to protect his neck and spine, and he was then stretchered down to a field nearby to be loaded into Helimed 63.
“Because of the nature of his injuries, he was flown to the Royal Preston Hospital.”
The Keswick team has been called out seven times in the past five days.
