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Boys rescued from Snowdon ridge | Boys rescued from Snowdon ridge |
(about 2 hours later) | |
An expedition from West Yorkshire is being criticised for being badly equipped after two young boys had to be rescued on Snowdon. | An expedition from West Yorkshire is being criticised for being badly equipped after two young boys had to be rescued on Snowdon. |
Some of the 27-strong group were only wearing trainers and jeans to climb to the summit, said the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. | Some of the 27-strong group were only wearing trainers and jeans to climb to the summit, said the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. |
The two boys, aged nine and 11, and two adults became stuck on the slopes of Crib Goch in low cloud, on Sunday. | |
The rescuers said the walk should have been abandoned because of the weather. | The rescuers said the walk should have been abandoned because of the weather. |
The two youngsters suffered slight hypothermia in the alert which began with a 999 call to say they were lost at the summit, but did not say which one. There were 26 people involved in the search. | |
One of two men in the group made his way down the mountain and was able to point out the youngsters' location, on a ledge at Crib Goch, two-thirds of the way up the mountain. | One of two men in the group made his way down the mountain and was able to point out the youngsters' location, on a ledge at Crib Goch, two-thirds of the way up the mountain. |
The boys had been told to sit tight and wait for rescue, which came when rescue team members used ropes to bring them down. | The boys had been told to sit tight and wait for rescue, which came when rescue team members used ropes to bring them down. |
The position they were in was potentially very serious and things could've turned out differently Dr Gwyn Roberts, Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team | |
Dr Gwyn Roberts, of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, said it appeared the boys and two adults with them had "strayed away" from the main party. | |
He said: "We think they may have inadvertently followed other people on the mountain and this had led them on to the slopes of Crib Goch which is a very narrow ridge, one of the subsidiary peaks of Snowdon. | |
"At that point they managed to get themselves to a position where they couldn't move up or down, they're on steep, rocky ground, very wet, they were in cloud and rain and they made a call for help at that point." | |
Some of the group were wearing only jeans and trainers | Some of the group were wearing only jeans and trainers |
Getting the people down was difficult, explained Dr Roberts, as they were on rock and had to be lowered to walking ground using several rope lengths. | |
He said: "By that time there was some concern about possible hypothermia for the kids, they were actually carried on the backs of a couple of team members down to the awaiting helicopter." | |
'Soaked through' | |
They were winched into the Sea King rescue helicopter, based at RAF Valley on Anglesey, and flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor. | |
Dr Roberts said weather conditions had also been difficult with driving rain and very cold winds. | |
"Several of the party were wearing trainers" said Dr Roberts. "They were obviously all pretty wet and soaked through by the time we got to them. | |
However, he said the biggest issue was that the party had got completely spread out along the mountainside. | |
Dr Roberts advised any party to be ready to adapt their plans or turn back if weather conditions are not as expected. | |
He added: "Fortunately the guys, the lads here are going to make a full recovery but the position they were in was potentially very serious and things could've turned out differently." |
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