Two people rescued in 'treacherous conditions' from Mount Errigal in Donegal

Donegal Mountain Rescue Team have outlined how, at 2:57pm on the afternoon of January 1, day, the team were tasked to Errigal to assist a person who had sustained a lower leg injury as they descended the mountain.

In a Facebook post they said: “With daylight fading fast and the temperature dropping, they could not get down the mountain without our help. Members of the team located the casualty, stabilized the leg and gave the other walker, who was with the casualty, extra layers including a cas wrap for warmth.

"The casualty was transferred on to a stretcher as other members of the team arrived with the stretcher wheel. With the rescue helicopter unavailable, the team set to work to get the two people to safety.

"Through treacherous wind and sleet conditions, the uninjured walker was safely walked off the hill, while the rest of the team used ropes to navigate the stretcher to where the wheel was positioned and, being joined by more members of the team and members of the Coast Guard, successfully transported the casualty off the hill to the awaiting ambulance.”

DMRT confirmed that 25 people in total were tasked to the mission to ‘secure the safety of the walkers off the hill, both of whom suffered mild hypothermia, in some of the worst conditions the team has experienced in a long time’.

They thanked their colleagues at the National Ambulance Service, Gardai, The Irish Coast Guard and Malin Head ‘for the incredible work done last night and we wish the casualty a speedy recovery’.