Woman stayed with fallen body of fiancé for hours

Tourist couple were climbing mountain in Kerry when he slipped and fell 100m

A WOMAN stayed with the dead body of her fiancé for hours after he fell 100 metres down a Kerry mountain, it has emerged.

The young couple, from Canada, had gone climbing up 1,000-metre Beenkeragh in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.

They were near the summit of what is Ireland’s second highest peak when her fiancé slipped and fell. She raised the alarm about 3.45pm on Tuesday with her mobile phone but because of foggy conditions, it took rescuers until about 9pm to locate her.

At times during the search for the couple, rescuers were very close and could even hear her cries for help.

But the fog was just too dense and even an Irish Coast Guard helicopter drafted in to help was unable to find them.

Kerry Mountain Rescue used 30 members in the search, backed by their reserve teams. The woman is said to have been very traumatised and upset by her ordeal.

Alan Wallace, Kerry Mountain Rescue’s spokesman, said last night: ‘The area where the search and rescue took place is very high. It was also on very steep ground.

‘We don’t know all the exact details but the gentleman took a fall down a considerable distance.

‘His fiancée raised the alarm and she stayed with him until we arrived. Communications were not great and we were only able to communicate with her through the 999 service.

‘As a result, we were not 100% certain where exactly the couple were. Before we found her, we could hear her, we were that close. But a lot of what we heard were echoes, and that just made the search more difficult.’

Although a doctor later pronounced him dead, it is understood that when rescuers found him there were no signs of life.

Before he could be brought down by stretcher, which was at about 1am yesterday, his fiancée was herself brought safely off the mountain by rescuers. Mr Wallace added: ‘That young lady had an unbelievably harrowing experience and our condolences go to her and his family.’

Yesterday, about ten Kerry Mountain Rescue volunteers were again called out when a German tourist injured her leg and had to be airlifted. The climber was coming down off Purple Mountain, near the Gap of Dunloe, near Killarney, when she slipped and injured herself.

Rescuers managed to locate her, stabilise her and then brought her to an area of the mountain where she could be airlifted.

Another Irish Coast Guard helicopter was called to the scene and was able to winch the woman off and bring her to an ambulance for her journey to hospital.