Two walkers who became disoriented whilst descending from the Merrick, the highest peak in South West Scotland, were located and airlifted to safety by the Police Scotland helicopter. This is the first time the team have been supported by the police helicopter in Galloway.
At 1855hrs on Wednesday 17th September 2014, Police Scotland called out the team to respond to two male walkers who had become disoriented whilst descending from the Merrick. They were otherwise well, but unable to navigate themselves off the hillside.
A hasty team of seven Galloway MR personnel was immediately dispatched as the team were already mustered for an evening training event at the base in Newton Stewart.
The Police Scotland helicopter was also deployed to assist and whilst the team were on route to the search area, they reported having located the walkers safe and well. Fortuitously, the aircraft was able to land at their location, and successfully evacuate them off the hillside.
Mike McCann, Team Leader said, “This is the first time we’ve worked with the Police Scotland helicopter and it shows how swiftly a rescue can be affected when we work effectively together. This was an incident ideally suited to the aircraft since it was able to land nearby the walkers and get them off the hill effortlessly. We greatly look forward to working with the aircrew in future”.
The team stood down at 1945hrs and returned to their training exercise! For more information about the voluntary activities of Galloway MRT including details of incidents, training, walk routes and much more, visit www.gallowaymrt.org.uk.
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