The busy summer of the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team has continued, with 16 incidents since the start of August. This included the rescue of a dog on Sunday 4 September 2016.
At 13:18 on Sunday 4 September, the Teams assistance was requested from Northumbria Police after reports that a Labradoodle dog had badly injured his leg while walking with four human companions up the Cheviot in the Northumberland National Park. Although rescuing animals is not the main role of Mountain Rescue, assistance was provided due to the remote location, the potential for injury to the dog’s human companions while carrying him down and to relieve the dog’s suffering. The Labradoodle was loaded into a stretcher and carried back to Harthope Valley by two Mountain Rescue members; one current and one former search dog handlers. They were assisted by a police officer and the dog’s human companions. The dog has since undergone an operation on his leg. The incident involved 3 Mountain Rescue volunteers for 3.5 hours.
On Saturday 3 September whilst the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team was covering the Cheviots Challenge, three separate incidents in the hills to the north and north west of Alwinton occurred.
A female in her early 50s was suffering from severe chest pains, causing her to collapse in one of the most exposed sections of the Pennine Way, west of Windy Gyle. Two Team members were on scene within minutes and further assistance arrived shortly after. One of the Doctors in the Team worked alongside two of our other medics to stabilise the casualty, before handing over to the Great North Air Ambulance Service for a short flight to a crewed Ambulance in the Coquet valley.
Whilst this incident was ongoing, Team members were also dealing with a second female who had sustained an ankle injury and was unable to continue. Both casualties were taken to hospital in the same Ambulance.
The third incident came late in the day when a group of nine walkers became lost and were overtaken by darkness. Once again SARLOC – a location App – proved its worth. A text was sent to one of the walker’s mobile phones which enabled us to pinpoint their location. The walkers had turned 90 degrees off their intended route and ended up in unfamiliar ground 2km from their last known point, Shillmoor. They had walked an extra 5km from Shillmoor and had almost gone in a full circle!
The walkers were evacuated in Mountain Rescue Land Rover Ambulances to Alwinton where they were checked out by a Doctor and a medic from the Team before being allowed to head home.
The 3 incidents involved Team 25 members over a period of 8 hours.
At 15:59 on Tuesday 6 September, the Teams assistance was requested for an overdue male in his 70s who had been walking in the woods around Cragside near Rothbury. Around 20 minutes after mobilising, the gentleman returned fit and well. The incident involved 15 Mountain Rescue volunteers for 1 hour.