Helicopter called to hill

A woman had to be rescued from 3000 ft after dislocating her shoulder on a Stirling area peak at the weekend.

A coastguard helicopter airlifted the casualty to safety on Saturday afternoon after she sustained a painful injury while on Beinn Chabhair, near Inverarnan.

She was put in a waiting ambulance and taken to hospital for further treatment.

The female, who was walking in the area as part of a group, encountered difficulty after falling near the top of the Munro at around 2.30pm.

After calling the police volunteers from Killin, Mountain Rescue Team were contacted and, as the injured walker was in a remote spot, the coastguard helicopter was contacted.

She was located shortly after and taken to safety later in the afternoon.

Bill Rose of Killin MRT said: “This was a real team effort. We received an early notification that the walker was in trouble but as she was around 3000ft up the mountain, and around four kilometres out the way, the helicopter was called to help.

“It’s brilliant to be able to call on the helicopter as it can be in the area within half-an-hour.

“Thankfully the walker could provide police with an exact grid reference of their location – which lets us know exactly where they are.

“As a result it all worked out well in the end. The important thing is that we managed to get to them and they were taken away.”

Bill is keen to remind people to make sure they are well prepared when out on the hills.

He added: “The weather is getting better but the mist can still descend quite quickly, which can make it difficult to see around. The absolute key is knowing where you are – and the best way to do this is to download the free OS Locate app for your phone. This can provide an exact grid reference of your location.

“If you encounter difficulty on the hill it can be quite scary and it can become really cold very quickly. It’s important to make sure you are well prepared.”

This was a real team effort. It’s brilliant to be able to call on the helicopter as it can be in the area within half-an-hour