Effort to rescue fallen climber in Cairngorms

  • Published

A climber has been rescued after falling 100m through an ice cornice in the Cairngorms.

The 33-year-old man is understood to have suffered a broken leg and head injuries, but was conscious. The incident happened near Coire an Lochan.

He was taken to safety by the Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team and an RAF rescue helicopter.

The same helicopter also carried three other climbers to safety after they got into difficulty near Loch Avon.

The climbers, who were said to have been "cold and frightened" but otherwise uninjured, had become stuck on a cliff.

A spokesman for the RAF said its Rescue 137 helicopter, based at Lossiemouth, had first dropped off a mountain rescue team to assist the fallen climber.

The chopper then airlifted the group of three cragfast climbers to safety, before briefly returning to Lossiemouth to refuel.

It then flew back to the Cairngorms to collect the fallen climber and take him to hospital.