Dramatic moment Caernarfon Coastguard helicopter rescues lost family from Welsh mountain
A family who were lost on a Welsh mountain have been dramatically rescued by the UK Coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon.
The family of four, two adults and two small children aged 5 and 11, were airlifted to safety by the Caernarfon Coastguard helicopter on Sunday evening after getting lost walking on Glyder Fawr in North Wales.
North Wales Police received a call from the mother just after 5.30pm reporting that she was lost with her children after going for a walk earlier that day. The Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation were called in and split into three teams to search the area with tracking dogs from SARDA Search and Rescue Dogs Association (Sarda Wales).
Just after 8pm North Wales Police called in the UK Coastguard helicopter to assist as the light was fading fast and the family had still not been located.
The Coastguard helicopter located the family just after 9pm on a precarious and steep mountain side and winched them all to safety.
UK Coastguard helicopter Captain Martin Shepherd said: “The missing family were unfamiliar with the area and unable to give an accurate indication as to their location, so a large search was organized by Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team, to find them as quickly as possible. Working with the MRT, the aircraft conducted a search of the initial search area but could not find any sign of the missing family. Using our FLIR camera, we were then able to locate the family, who were stuck on the side of a steep slope, in an area outside the initial search area. They were all cold and wet having been stuck on the mountain for several hours, but were otherwise unharmed. Because of the age and size of the young children, we had to use special equipment to winch the children into the aircraft, and were able to rescue all of the family and deliver them to Ogwen Mountain Rescue base for warming up and a well-deserved cup of tea.”
The family of four, two adults and two small children aged 5 and 11, were airlifted to safety by the Caernarfon Coastguard helicopter on Sunday evening after getting lost walking on Glyder Fawr in North Wales.
North Wales Police received a call from the mother just after 5.30pm reporting that she was lost with her children after going for a walk earlier that day. The Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation were called in and split into three teams to search the area with tracking dogs from SARDA Search and Rescue Dogs Association (Sarda Wales).
Just after 8pm North Wales Police called in the UK Coastguard helicopter to assist as the light was fading fast and the family had still not been located.
The Coastguard helicopter located the family just after 9pm on a precarious and steep mountain side and winched them all to safety.
UK Coastguard helicopter Captain Martin Shepherd said: “The missing family were unfamiliar with the area and unable to give an accurate indication as to their location, so a large search was organized by Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team, to find them as quickly as possible. Working with the MRT, the aircraft conducted a search of the initial search area but could not find any sign of the missing family. Using our FLIR camera, we were then able to locate the family, who were stuck on the side of a steep slope, in an area outside the initial search area. They were all cold and wet having been stuck on the mountain for several hours, but were otherwise unharmed. Because of the age and size of the young children, we had to use special equipment to winch the children into the aircraft, and were able to rescue all of the family and deliver them to Ogwen Mountain Rescue base for warming up and a well-deserved cup of tea.”
