Records broken for number of rescues
TEAMS HAD DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF INCIDENTS IN 2018
LAST year was the busiest on record for North East rescue teams who dealt with double the amount of incidents compared to 2017, with the Beast from the East playing a significant part.
At the request of Northumbria Police and the North East Ambulance Service, Northumberland National Park and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue teams responded to 140 incidents across Northumberland and Tyne & Wear.
The callouts included searches for lost walkers, rescues of climbers and mountain bikers, searches for individuals at risk missing from home in more urban areas, and dealing with the impact of extreme weather events – including the Beast from the East. The last call of 2018 was late afternoon on Sunday, December 30 for a walker in his early 70s who had sustained a leg injury.
That three-hour hour incident near Simonside in Northumberland involved the teams evacuating the walker on a mountain rescue stretcher over rough terrain to a forest track before he was handed over to the ambulance service.
Last year’s events included:
Three search dog teams, handlers and navigators deployed to Keswick to assist in a large scale search for a missing walker.
46 incidents in four days during the Beast from the East, including rescuing stranded drivers on Carter Bar and urgent patient transfers to hospital.
January: February/March: April:
A night search with Border Search & Rescue Unit for an overdue walker, who had turned 180 degrees in the wrong direction.
Another cross-border night search for a family with a young child , who had been mountain biking and reported themselves stranded at Yearning Hall Saddle refuge.
May: June:
A two-day search for a vulnerable male in the Greenhead area, he was located by Fire & Rescue’s specialist water team, unfortunately deceased.
Rescue of a seriously injured climber from Crag Lough on Hadrian’s Wall, working alongside the Great North Air Ambulance Service and HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter.
July: November:
Thirteen incidents including another cross-border search with Tweed Valley MRT in the Newcastleton and Kielder area for a missing 17-year-old, who was located safe and well.
Rescue of injured van driver from the River Breamish after
December:
the vehicle had come off the road, working alongside Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service and NEAS.
Iain Nixon, leader of the Northumberland National Park team, said: “The Beast from the East had a significant part to play in the unprecedented rise in the number of incidents in 2018.
“However, even without the Beast from the East, the teams responded to 94 incidents over the year, 28 more than the previous year.
“The dedication and commitment shown by our volunteers has been tremendous and I’d like to thank them, their families and friends, and employers for their ongoing support.”
It costs around £80,000 a year to run the teams. If volunteer time was included, that figure would rise to £860,000.
■ Donations can be made online via Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team: www.justgiving.com/nnpmrt and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team http:// www.notmrt.org.uk/donate