During the first weekend of July, RAF Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) from RAF Leeming and RAF Valley both successfully helped rescue walkers stranded in the mountains.
The RAF teams were contacted by civilian MRTs in the Lake District and Snowdonia to assist in evacuating walkers that were injured and unable to get off the mountains.
Just before midnight on Friday 5th July, the team from RAF Leeming deployed to assist with the evacuation of an injured walker from Angle Tarn, near Hartsop, in the Lake District. The casualty required immediate assistance to get off the mountain as they were suffering with chest pains and subsequently became hypothermic.
Working alongside the Patterdale MRT and HM Coastguard the team moved the casualty so that the Coastguard helicopter could pick them up and transport them to hospital.
This was the first callout for one of the RAF Leeming MRT members, Corporal Coutts.
“When the first callout came through it was incredible to see how quickly and efficiently the team mobilised, coming together to assist the civilian team and casualty.”
Corporal Coutts
The following day, the MRT at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, received a call while some of the team were out training. A walker had fallen and on Llanberis path on Snowdon and badly injured their knee. The team cut short their training and went to assist the walker. They worked with Llanberis MRT to evacuate the casualty to a road where they were transferred to an ambulance for transportation to hospital.
The RAF’s MRTs are always ready to assist people in need, but this is a secondary role for them. Their primary role is search and rescue for downed military aircraft and crews. Callouts allow the MRS to help people in dire need of assistance and keep the public safe while honing their skills.
The RAF’s Mountain Rescue Service was founded in 1943 and has grown considerably since. Each RAF MRT is managed by permanent staff and part time volunteers from across all three Services.
