Seven teenage girls rescued from Mourne Mountains | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Seven teenage girls rescued from Mourne Mountains

Seven teenage girls were rescued from the Mournes yesterday after getting into difficulty.

Mourne Mountain Rescue Team posted this picture of the rescue to their Facebook page

Mourne Mountain Rescue Team posted this picture of the rescue to their Facebook page

A search and rescue operation was launched after police established that a 999 call made on Monday afternoon had come from a mobile registered to one of a Girls Brigade group camping on the mountain.

The call had been disconnected before the operator could speak to the caller and numerous attempts by police to re-establish a connection with the phone failed.

Local police officers, PSNI Search and Rescue specialists, and Mourne Mountain Rescue Team were involved in the operation to locate the group and ensure their welfare due to fading visibility and poor weather conditions on the mountain.

Paramedics were also tasked to the scene and were on stand-by in the event any of the group needed medical treatment. The group was subsequently located by the search teams and was safely removed from the mountain.

Two of the girls were suffering the effects of extreme cold and one was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution. All have now been reunited with their parents.

Speaking to Newry Times, PSNI Inspector Duncan McBain said, “I would like to thank all of the agencies involved in the rescue operation and our colleagues from Irish Coastguard who also tasked a helicopter to assist.”

On their Facebook page, Mourne Mountain Rescue Team explained the callout. “The team received a request for assistance from a youth group. The group undertaking an expedition had become lost in deteriorating weather conditions with members beginning to suffer the effects of hypothermia.

“The team responded and within 60 minutes had located all seven members of the group spread across two locations from Trassey Track to the Southern slopes of Slieve Bearnagh.

“Five members of the group were assessed, treated for mild hypothermia and deemed capable of walking out with guidance. The other members of the group were assessed, treated for severe hypothermia with one having to be evacuated by stretcher.

“All of the group were evacuated to team vehicles and transferred to NIAS. Due to initial concerns, NIAS, including their HART Paramedics, local PSNI including their SAR Team and Helicopter Rescue 116 were all involved.

The post added, “Thanks to everyone for their assistance, with a special note of thanks to Meelmore Lodge for their very much appreciated hospitality. A total of 16 Mourne Team members were involved and stood down at 2030 hrs.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=51801

Posted by on Jul 7 2015. Filed under Community, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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