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Dramatic photos as injured hillwalker rescued from Galway mountainside
The hillwalker alerted emergency services after injuring his ankle.
Updated 9.20am
THE GALWAY MOUNTAIN Rescue Team (GMRT) has released dramatic photos of the rescue of an injured hillwalker on the Twelve Bens mountain range at the weekend.
The GMRT located the male hillwalker who had been missing since Saturday night yesterday afternoon.
The man had been stranded in the southern half of the mountain range, near Recess, Co Galway, after injuring his ankle.
Ronan Concannon of GMRT said the hillwalker alerted the team at 8pm on Saturday but that poor weather and visibility meant personnel were unable to reach the search zone.
A group of 8 rescuers was deployed to search Binn Leitri mountain but after initial efforts yielded no results rescuers remained on the mountain overnight to expand the search area.
Additional personnel were requested and members of Donegal, Dublin-Wicklow, Glen of Imaal, Kerry, Mayo and Sligo-Leitrim Mountain Rescue teams responded to the scene.
The assistance of a search dog and handler from the Search and Rescue Dog Association was also requested. The Air Corps and Coast Guard provided logistical support by transporting rescuers to the area by air and road.
The missing man, believed to be from the Galway area, was eventually located at roughly 3pm about a kilometre from the location he reported to emergency services.
He was treated on-scene by mountain rescue personnel before a combined group of rescuers from all the rescue teams involved conducted the stretcher evacuation.
The hillwalker was transferred to a waiting HSE ambulance for transport to Galway University Hospital.
Additional reporting Cianan Brennan
First published 3:26pm 20 September
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