RAF Mountain Rescue Service saves the life of trapped teenage walker in 16-hour operation
The Royal Air Force's Mountain Rescue Services pulled off a "remarkable" life-saving job rescuing an 18-year-old walker who fell on Scafell Pike, England's tallest mountain.
The rescue took an estimated 16 hours, with the dangerous snowy conditions playing a major factor.
Talking to Forces News, Sergeant Jake Tharratt from RAF Leeming, who was acting as the duty team leader on the evening the teams were called out to assist, praised the civilian and RAF's ability to work so "seamlessly" to carry out the rescue.
'Heroes every day'
Members of the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service (RAFMRS), an organisation that has been saving lives for more than 80 years, were called out at around 20:00 on Friday and did not complete their work until around noon the next day.
The primary role of RAFMRS is instant deployment across the UK at any time, for aircraft post-crash and incident management and search and rescue of military personnel, but RAFMRS does mix with civilian teams to assist in rescue jobs.
It was an especially busy night on Friday, with five separate call-outs. The RAF teams were close to the scene due to them carrying out joint training.
RAF Leeming heaped praise on the RAF Mountain Rescue Service, saying its actions, alongside that of the civilian crews, had undoubtedly saved the life of the walker.
He was semi-submerged in water, severely hypothermic and had suffered a suspected broken leg, so was in urgent need of evacuation.
"Heroes. Every. Day." RAF Leeming posted on X.
The rescue
The teenage walker and his two dogs reached the summit at around 16:00 on Friday, but his father said there had been no contact with him since.
Due to the wintry conditions, including heavy snowfall at height, as well as the lone walker's inexperience, a full call-out was made for a search, including support from RAF Leeming and RAF Valley.
Sgt Tharratt said the weather conditions and having up to 3ft of fresh snow made the search conditions hazardous, so it was crucial to locate the walker as quickly as possible.
The walker was eventually found at the bottom of Piers Gill, estimated at around 45-50 metres, confirmed by a searchlight and a thermal imaging scope.
Sgt Tharratt estimated that the teen had been at the bottom in the snow for eight hours, so it was critical to pull him out and get him medical support.
The walker confirmed he had broken his leg and could not move.
"His two dogs were located above a waterfall pitch from him, but both seemed fit and well," said the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team.
'All hands to the deck'
Due to the lack of equipment, the RAF mountain rescue team, along with the civilian teams of Keswick Mountain Rescue Team and Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team, requested the Coastguard helicopter in the hope of winching the teenager up the steep fell.
Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, the helicopter was unable to winch the walker out, so the helicopter team travelled to Wasdale Valley's base to recover additional equipment and crew to help with the rescue.
"We then built a technical rescue system, then lowered medics down to the walker," Sgt Tharratt said.
It was then "all hands to the deck", and the Coastguard helicopter was then able to winch the casualty, before transferring him to the hospital for further assessment and treatment.
The job was not finished for the RAF teams, as it took a further three raises to extract the rest of the team members who were still at the bottom.
After everyone was retrieved from the gill, equipment was packed up and the teams made their way to the Wasdale base for food and refreshments.
The RAF teams had some downtime before returning to their joint training.
Civilian rescue jobs provide excellent training for the RAF Mountain Rescue Service, keeping them in tuned condition to carry out their primary operations roles.
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