The Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team began searching in difficult conditions for two men in their thirties who have been lost on Lugnaquilla since late Monday afternoon. The two men raised the alarm on Monday night after they lost their map and freezing fog and poor visibility caused them to become disorientated. They remained in contact with rescue services through the night.
The volunteer Mountain Rescue teams who had been searching the mountain on foot throughout the night were assisted by personnel from the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána. Irish Mountain Rescue Association teams from around the country sent volunteer members to assist the rescue effort. The Coastguard and Air Corps helicopters also assisted with the search and two mountain rescue teams from Wales attended on request to lend their assistance, along with the PSNI Search and Rescue team.
HSE advanced paramedics stood-by at Rescue Base to treat the men once they were located. One of these advanced paramedics is also a mountain rescue team member, and spend a great deal of time on the phone to the two men to monitor their condition before they were rescued.
Conditions on the mountain were very difficult with deep snow, cold temperatures and poor visibility. The two men were eventually located by mountain rescuers who treated them on-scene. The were then carried on stretchers by mountain rescue teams from around the country before being airlifted to hospital for further treatment.
We would like to thank all agencies involved in this operation:
Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team
Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team
Mayo Mountain Rescue Team
South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association
Kerry Mountain Rescue Team
Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team
North West Mountain Rescue Team
RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team - Wales
Ogwyn Valley Mountain Rescue Team - Wales
Mourne Mountain Rescue Team
PSNI Search & Rescue Team - NI
Irish Defence Forces - Army & Air Corps
The Irish Coastguard
An Gárda Siochana
HSE Ambulance Service & Paramedics
Incident Stats
Number: 09-2009
Tasking Agency: Gardai
Callout Officer: M. Flynn
Incident Date: 09-02-2009
Incident Time: 21:00hrs
Incident Type: Rescue
Incident Site Grid Ref: T 003 916
Mobile Phone Used to Alert Emergency Services: Yes
