Incident Reports 2015

A group of team members travelled to York to assist in the multi-agency response to large scale flooding

The team provided assistance to the major response to flooding in York. Among the 'things' rescued were 3 dogs and a parrot... Oh, and there were some people too... 

A young couple exploring the Lake District in search of snow found it... and got their car stuck in it. We succeessfully recovered them and their car back to more level, snow free roads

With Cumbria County Council and the army digging continuously to clear the A591 of landslide debri, we were finally able to recover our Land Rover from amidst the rubble.

The team dispatched Swiftwater Rescue Technicians to assist with flooding in Glenridding

During the rescue of 25 passengers from a coach trapped in a landslide on Saturday one of our own response Land Rovers became trapped. Today we returned to the vehicle to recover the last of the equipment from it and make it secure while we await its recovery

Day three: Local water levels have started to drop and the damage done is becoming apparent. More welfare checks, investigations in to the possibility of recovering our vehicle, and another team dispatched to Carlisle to assist with the situation there, and another overnight stint for our team leader in the region-wide coordination of the rescue effort.

Day two and water level are becoming a problem across the whole county, and beyond. Again, assitance provided to NWAS in accessing and transferring patients to hospital, welfare checks on vulnerable people, and the most significant event of our day, the temporary loss of a vehicle. It was being used to recover 25 passengers from a coach, trapped by a series of landslides on the north side of Dunmail Raise when it, two team members and the driver of the coach also became trapped by subsequent landslides.

The predicted severe weather started to have an impact. Among other issues, our nlocal ambulance station became flooded, with the crew moving in to our base. Regional cooridnation of MR responses was scaled up and requests for flood related assistance started to come in. Welfare checks on residents of vulnerable properties, recovery of people daft enough to sink their cars, some repsonses with NWAS paramedics and a couple of transfers to hospital

We were requested to assist Wasdale MRT to recover a solo male wlaker who had activated a SPOT tracker. 

Car parking areas in Langdale were checked for a vehicle belonging to a man reported as missing. He was eventually located in Ennerdale. A number of teams were involved in the search

A walker sustained a suspected lower leg fracture. Treated by team members and evacuated by stretcher

An army trainnee sustained a fractured anke while camping above Stickle Tarn. The team responded in very poor visibility and darkness to locate and treat the young male. He was splinted and given pain relief and evacuated from the hill in a lengthy stretcher carry.. 1am pie and beans back at base was veru much appreciated!

Two young women became benighted at the top of Far Easedale, subsequently becoming very cold. They were located by team members and evacuated

A 55-year-old man sustained a lower leg injury while walking. His wife raised the alarm.  He was treated by team members and evacuated by stretcher

An ill-prepared group of 5 became benighted when it went dark while they were on Crinkle Crags.. depsite their impatience, they were eventually located by team members from RAF MRTs and escorted to safety. An unecessary rescue at the end of a long, hard day

  A member of a group took a tumble up on the Climber's Traverse on Bowfell,  sustaining facial injuries. With our team already committed to the previous, serious incident, along with members of Kendal MRT, and  a Duddon MRT member who made the mistake of being at our base when it kicked off, it was necessary to request Coniston MRT to assist. This they did, and evacuated the man to the valley floor

A young woman took a 40 metres fall from Gimmer Crag. She sustained serious multiple injuries. Weather conditions were very poor, and the chances of getting a vital helicopter evacuation looked unlikely. Two others sustained minor injuries. The seriously injured woman was stabilised by team members and lowered further down the crag, from where she was picked up by the Rescue 912 in a stunning and brave bit of flying in very poor conditions. If anyone had any doubts that the replacement for their much-loved Sea King would fail to deliver, then today proved them groundless..

In the first incident of what would prove to be a very busy day, a man suffered a collapse as a result of a cardiac event while climing The Band. The team responded and the man was treated and evacuated to an air ambulance, waiting below the cloud base. He was flown to Carlisle for treatment

The team assisted with the recovery of two casualties from an RTC in Great Langdale. It had crashe dthrough a fence, and rolled down a steep bank

A male sustained  a suspected akle fracture while walking. He was treated by the team and then evacuated by air ambulance

The team assisted in a joint operation with Keswick and Cockermouth MRTs to rescue a man with a knee injury at Stake Pass. 

He was able to walk down with assistance

A tent and various other items were reported abandoned near Blea Crag, Langdale. The equipment was recovered and over two days, couple of searches were mounted to check that occupants were OK.

A woman sustained a knee injury. She ws recovered by the air ambulance while ourselves and Patterdale MRT were en-route.

The team assisted a farmer in recovering a sheep that had been chased in to Rydal by a dog. It had climbed out on to a rock about 100 metres from the shore

A male became seperated from his colleagues while walking on Silver How. When he hadn't returned after several hours, a search was organised. He was located on the road in Langdale heading back towards their accommodation

A woman was reported with an ankle injury. Because of the prolonged evacuation and cold we requested an helicopter to support. Air ambulance was unable to get in due to weather, so an S92 attended. By the time it had arrived, the weather had deteriorated further and it was hampered by lowering cloud base. Team members also attended and were able to treat the woman and remove he rto below the cloud, from where she was finally evacuated by the S92 which had returned from refueling. 

A man approaching a scramble on Horn Crag, Grasmere, discovered a body at the base of the crag. A difficult technical evacuation ensued and the body was recovered and handed over to the authorities

A man fell from a kayak into the lake. It was dark and he appeared to not be wearing a bouyancy aid. His shouts for help were heard and he was pulled from the lake by a hotel safety boat and rewarmed by the team on the lake shore, before being transferrred to an ambulance. His temperature had dropped to 31 degrees C

A female walker became cragfast when she strayed from a path. She was retrieved without incident

A male fell from the path above Browney Ghyll, falling 30 metres and sustaining head inuries, double wrist fractures and lower back damage. He was treated by team members and air ambulance paramedics and and then evacuated by Royal Navy Sea King to Preston hospital

A woman walking with her family suffered the gradual onset injury to her knee, making progress increasingly slow, eventually grinding to a halt at the top of Nab Scar. The woman's injury was splinted and she was stretchered to the valley bottom. 

A female took a fall and sustained  a fractured hip and wrist on the Coffin Route, Rydal. She was treated by team members and evacuated to an ambulance

A mountain biker sustained a cut to his leg. We were requested to assist the ambulance service to evacuate him to the road

There's plenty of advice out there about what is considered suitable wear for venturing in to the hills, and a good deal suggesting what might NOT be regarded as suitable. To be fair, it would be difficult to find any that included mention of a  cow-print onesie... he was also hypoglycaemic and hypothermic, possibly contributed to by pre-existing medical condition.. and did I mention the cow-print onesie..?

Anyway, we did our stuff, and he was evacuated by Search and Rescue helicopter to hospital

A woman sustained a suspected lower leg fracture near the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. She was treated by team members and evacuated to an ambulance

A woman suffered a fractured lower leg when she slipped. She was treated by team members and evacuated by stetcher and handed over to paramedics 

A woman sustained a fracture lower leg. She was treated by team members and evacuated to a waiting ambulance

A man suffered a fracture wrist in a fall. He was treated by team members and evacuated by air ambulance

Lights were reported above the campsite at Chapel Stile. They were investigated by team members, but nothing was found

A group was overdue and delayed by an injury. They were located in Mickleden making slow, but steady progress.

A female sustained an arm inury when she fell on Gunson Knott. She was treated by team members and evacuated to an ambulance at Three Shires Stone

A male became unwell. Unfortunately he died, despite efforts to reivive him.

A young male recieved serious leg and head inuries when he was hit by a large falling rock. He was treated by team members and air ambulance paramedics and then evacuated to Preston hospital

A 48-year-old male slipped and sustained a lower leg injury while out walking with his family. He was treated by team members and then evacuated to an ambulance at the roadside

A woman sustained a lower leg injury when she slipped on a greasy path. She was treated by team members, then evacuated by stretcher and vehicle for onward transport to hospital

Five people were reported overdue. Three had last been seen near Angle Tarn, when their group had become strung out, and two others, who had gone back up to look for them. A search was being planned when they turned up in the valley

A walker with an organised group sustained a frcatured wrist near Calf Crag. The group continued to move once the injury had been treated by the group leader and we mety them in Greenburn.

A 74-year-old male was reported overdue from a walk over the Langdale Pikes, having not returned for some conserable time after he was expected. A search was being organised when he turned up exhausted and suffering with a reocurrance of an old knee injury

A male in his 60's sustained a head injury when he slipped and fell near Slater's Bridge. He was treated by team members and evacuated to a waiting ambulance

A male walker slipped and sustained possible spinal and neck injury. He was treated and evacuated to a waiting air ambulance for onward transfer to hospital

In an unfortunate incident, a woman slipped and injured both ankles (!!) She was treated by team members and then evacuated by stretcher to a waiting ambulance

A woman posted via social media that she was in difficulty, and the failed to arrive at her pre-booked accommodation. We joined a search along with dogs, Keswick and Patterdale MRTs only for her to turn up at alternative accommodation.

A group of four became cragfast. We were unable to locate them, but they were in reciept of sufficent 'encouragement' and information to get off the steep ground and on to a less demanding slope

A 15-year-old female suffered a a suspected sprained ankle. She was treated by team members and evacuated by team vehicle

A group became fatigued and 'mislaid' on a track near Limefitt Park, Troutbeck. They were recovered and removed to a safe place

A 51-year-old female suffered a lower leg injury. She attempted to self-evacuate but eventually had accepted an offer to call for assistance. She was treated and evacuated by team members

An elderly male collapsed with a suspected heart attack. We worked with the air ambulance in efforts to revive him,but sadly failed. He was evacuated from the fell.

A male, aged 71, took a tumble and suffered  suspected fracture to his lower leg. He was evacuated by the team and transferred to an ambulance at our base for onward transport

A group of 6 were reported overdue from the Central Fells. Initial enquiries were being carried out when we were notified that they had turned up

The team was requested to assist Paramedics to evacuate a man who had susatined a leg injury on the wrong side of stepping stones

We were called to assist a 70 year old female with a potentially serious cut on her leg. 

The team responded, but were ultimately not required after paramdics were able to treat her 

An elderly make became lost in the woods at White Moss. He called for help, reporting a medical condition that was cause for concern. 

Fortunately he became un-lost while we were organsing a response

A female collapsed due to suspect diabetic cause. She was treated by the team and evacuated by stretcher to an ambulance

A father and his two sons became cragfast on Jack's Rake. 

They called for help and the team went to assist; roping them out to the top of the Rake

A 43-year-old female slipped and sustained a suspected broken ankle.The team assisted paramedics in treating and evacuating the woman

We received a report a male having fallen in the area of Black Crag, Wrynose. The team mobilised along with air ambulance. He had arm and facial injuries and had been briefly unconscious. He treated and evacuated. 

A woman in her 60's, walking with her friend became exhausted and needed assistance to get off the hill. Initially, we struggled to locate them, but shorlty after calling Kendal and Patterdale MRT to help, they were spotted and recovered

A woman sustained a fractured wrist between Rydal Cave and Loughrigg Terrace. She was treated by the team and evacuated by stretcher to an ambulance waitng at White Moss.

The team was paged to assist NWAS with the evacuation of a 4-year-old boy who had reportedly sustained back injuries in a fall on Post Knott, Windermere. He was located on Brant Fell, and after examination by paramedics, was passed fit to walk off.

A woman walking on the riverbank slipped and fell down the embankment into the river, sustaining a painful shoulder and wrist injury. We were requested to assist the ambulance service with her extrication. 

A 80 year old male fell, likely cause hypoglycemia. The team was responding from the previous incident, along with members of Keswick MRT, when we were notified that the air ambulance was able to pick the man up and lift him to the valley bottom, from where he was checke dover and taken to his accommodation for rest

We were requested to assist Keswick MRT with the evacuation of a woman with a leg injury from the Swirls path from Helvellyn. 

A 16-year-old male celebrated finishng his exams by cycling off-road, from Penrith to Eskdale. He ground to a halt near Three Tarns when he ran out of daylight. His position was confirmed using SARLOC and he was recovered by a group of team members. You have to admire his ambition, even if the implementation was a little flawed... 

Lights and some spare, warm clothing would have helped...

A woman walking with her friend tripped and sustained a suspected fractured wrist and facial injuries. They were located using our SARLOC tool and treated by team members and air ambualnce paramedics and evacuated by the air ambulance to hospital. Again, an incident were the people needing help were not able to give an accurate location, and guesswork, detective work and SARLOC were all required to find them

An elderley gentleman collapsed and, sadly, died from a suspected heart attack, depsite the best efforts of paramedics, first responders and team members. His body was evauated from the path and handed over to the authorities

A man is his 80's went for a walk, but became a little waylaid and then exhausted trying to find his way down.He also sustained a minor arm injury 

A woman in her 70's collapsed with a heart condition. She was located and treated by team members, along with a paramdic and then evacuated by air ambulance to hospital

A second competitor in the same event tripped and sustained a serious, deep cut to her knee. She was treated by team members and evacuated by stretcher for ongoing transport to hosptal. An air ambulance was requested to assist, but was unable to help due to weather conditions

A 58-year-old woman slipped and sustained a serious lower leg fracture. She was rescued by the team in conjunction with Great North Air Ambulance

We were requested to assist NWAS paramedics access and evacuate a 74-year-old woman who had fallen and sustained a head injury near Stock Ghyll Force

A lone male walker reported a nasty ankle fracture. He was located with a little difficulty, having given a misleading grid reference and location, but we're good at this!! Treated by team members and air ambulance paramdedics, and then evacuated by air ambulance.

A couple had spent the night out in the Scafell Pike region. Efforts to locate them overnight were unsuccessful, so the search was scaled up first thing. 

Teams from ourselves, Wasdale, Keswick, Duddon and Furness and searh dogs were all involved.

They were located near the summit of the Pike, assisted to below the cloud base and evacuated by Royal Navy Sea King

We were requested to assist NWAS with the evacuation of a man with a leg injury. We were already commited to incident 39, so passed the incident on to Coniston MRT, with whom we share that border

A woman  sustained a lower leg injury when she tripped.

She was treated by team members and evacuated by stretcher to the valley

Two members of a group of older walkers sustained injuries, one a dislocated shoulder and another a knee injury. 

They phoned for help, but with a poor signal, it was difficult to locate them. There location was described as 'Langdale Ghyll'... When we eventually did work out where they were, it was with help from a party member who had descended and could point to the way he had come down. (It's really useful to be able to name the location of your emergency!)

A fellrunner took a tumble and sustained a nasty cut to his head. The team was called and an air ambulance also attended. He was airlifted to the valley floor and transferred to an ambulance

A 70-year-old lone male walker took a 20 metre tumble in a gully on Pavey Ark. He sustained a head injury along with numerous cuts and bruises. His shouts for help were heard by two climbers, who went to is assistance. They bandaged his head and stayed with him until the team arrived. He was treated and airlifted to Cumberland Infirmary by RAF Boulmer

A woman walking with her son slipped and sustained a suspected lower leg fracture. She was treated by air ambulance and the carried by stretcher to their aircraft. She was then flown into the valley and transported back to Ambleside by team vehicle, then transferred to a conventional ambulance for transport to hospital.

A lone female walker suffered a nasty lower leg fracture while walking near the summit of Loughrigg. She was assisted by passersby while waiting for the team and air ambulance arrived. She was treated with pain relief, her injury splinted and then evacuated by helicpter

The weather wreaked havoc with the campsite of a group of DofE students. They requested help after all but two of their tents were destroyed. We attended their location and checked them all over, leaving them with heat blankets and instructions to stay put until daylight, when their leaders and supervisors would come and recover them.

A group of 4 were reported as overdue after becoming separated from the rest of their group near Dove Crag. A search was organised involving ourselves, search dogs, Patterdale MRT and Kirkby Stephen MRT. Weather conditions were 'challenging' and visibility was very poor. The group were located down near Brotherswater. I'm told there's a tale to tell, but I'm not privy to it yet..

A male member of a group sustained a knee injury when he slipped on steep ground. He injury was treated and he was stretchered off the hill... wild weather was the order of the day

Snowmageddon... well not really, but a multi-vehicle incident on Kirkstone Pass during a period of snowfall occupied ourselves, Patterdale MRT, police, ambulance and Fire and Rescue Service for several hours. Two injured people were released from an upturned vehicle and evacuated by stretcher to our vehicles and then transferred to ambulances waiting at lower levels. A number of other vehicles were also trapped on the pass, so their occupants were evacuated to the Kirkstone Inn

We were requested by NWAS to assist a woman with a lower leg injury on the Coffin Route, near Grasmere. We attended along with the air ambulance and the woman was evacuated to hospital