CLIFF CLIMBER IN DIFFICULT RESCUE NEAR LAND’S END

A climber was airlifted to Royal Cornwall Hospital with pelvic injuries this evening after a rescue operation by Coastguard Rescue Teams that took nearly five hours due to poor weather conditions and the remote location of the casualty.

The group of climbers, from the London Climbing Club, had been climbing between Carn Barra and Gwennap Head, two miles south of Land’s End, when a 29-year-old male climber fell 7 metres onto rocks.  At 18.03 another member of the climbing group called the Coastguard to report the incident, but was only able to give vague details of their location as the informant did not know the local area.

Falmouth Coastguard sent the Land’s End Cliff Rescue Team to the scene to locate the casualty, and at 18.23 they found the group of climbers but were unable to immediately reach them. The Land’s End team then set up their cliff rescue equipment and went to assist the male who was at the base of the 200ft cliffs.  At this time it was raining heavily, and visibility was down to 15 metres.

Due to the poor conditions the helicopter from RNAS Culdrose, Rescue 193, was unable to go to the aid of the faller, and so Falmouth Coastguard tasked the Penzance Cliff Rescue Team to assist.  The Land’s End Coastguard climbed down to the casualty, also taking with them a paramedic. At this stage the visibility had slightly improved, meaning Rescue 193 Helicopter was able to proceed, but with the stricken climber being in such an inaccessible position it was still not clear if the helicopter would be able to winch the casualty from the difficult location.

It was then a joint effort of all the rescue personnel involved to guide the helicopter to the position of the fallen climber, where he was then winched and transferred to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, arriving at 21.37.

Falmouth Coastguard Watch Manager Terry Collins said:

“This was an incredibly difficult rescue for all those involved – from the Operations Room staff who had to try and ascertain the location of the group, to the Coastguard Rescue Teams who had to locate and reach the casualty in poor visibility and heavy rain. 

We would ask that any cliff climbing groups consider their location carefully before attempting a climb – it is vital to know the area that you are climbing and have an accurate position of where the climb is taking place, no matter how remote the location is.”

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