Rescue team carry injured climber 600 metres down Donegal's highest peak

Stephen Maguire

A 12-person rescue team carried a casualty 600 metres down Errigal mountain in Co Donegal after the person fell and suffered a serious leg injury.

The team from the Donegal Mountain Rescue team took part in the difficult extraction from the mountain on Saturday evening.

Many more people are now climbing Donegal's highest peak after a €600,000 path upgrade made the climb more accessible.

Members of the DMRT were first alerted to the incident by gardai at 4.57pm.

The team call out coordinators used the PhoneFind system to precisely locate the casualty, with the location data received at 5.01pm.

A 'hasty' team reached the casualty at approximately 6.51pm and confirmed the person had suffered a lower leg injury.

The team then began treatment of the injured person by immobilising the affected limb.

Once stabilised, the team undertook the challenging process of transporting the casualty down to the car park at Errigal.

The DMRT then handed over the injured person into the care of National Ambulance Service paramedics just after 9.20pm and the casualty was transported to Letterkenny for further medical treatment.

"We wish the casualty a speedy recovery," said the DMRT spokesperson.