The Royal Navy Sea King crew had expected the worst

The Royal Navy Sea King crew had expected the worst

A climber survived a fall of 300m (1,000ft) with only minor injuries.

The crew of a Royal Navy helicopter said they feared the worst when called to the incident in the Grey Corries east of Ben Nevis,  but were amazed to find the man standing reading a map at the bottom of a series of rocky crags.

The crew, from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire, was alerted while on a training flight about 2.05pm on Saturday that the climber had fallen from the summit of the 1,094m (3,598ft) peak Sgurr Choinnich Mòr in Lochaber.

The rescue helicopter was at the site within 30 minutes and was preparing for a bad news after learning the 35-year-old man, who was with a party of 24 climbers had fallen the equivalent height of two Blackpool Towers.

The crew began a search of the mountain’s eastern face. “The top of the mountain was partially in cloud, but we spotted the group and they were able to point out the rough direction to us,” said Lieutenant Tim Barker, the crew’s observer.

“We began to hover taxi down the slope and spotted a man at the bottom, standing up.

“We honestly thought it couldn’t have been him, as he was on his feet reading a map. Above him was a series of three high craggy outcrops.

“It seemed impossible. So we retraced our path back up the mountain and, sure enough, there were bits of his kit in a vertical line all the way up where he had obviously lost them during the fall.

“It was quite incredible. He must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell, almost flying.

“We were able to get in quite close to where he had landed and we winched our paramedic, Petty Officer Taff Ashman, down to the scene and it appeared that, beyond some superficial cuts and bruises and a minor chest injury, he was unscathed.

“He was shaking from extreme emotional shock and the sheer relief at still being alive.

“We checked the height while we were in the hover and we were at pretty much bang on 2,600ft, making his fall 1,000ft from the summit.”

The climber was winched up in a double-strop lift and was reassessed by a doctor from the medical retrieval team in Glasgow who had been with the crew on training during the day.

The casualty was flown to Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital.

“He is lucky to be alive,” continued Lieutenant Barker. “It’s hard to believe that someone could have fallen that distance on that terrain and been able to stand up at the end of it, let alone chat to us in the helicopter on the way to the hospital.

“Really an amazing result – I have to say, when we got the call and realised the details of where he’d fallen, we did expect to arrive on scene to find the worst case scenario.

“It’s fantastic to have been able to come away with this kind of totally unexpected positive outcome. The whole crew is elated to share in this chap’s good fortune.”

Lieutenant Al Hinchcliffe and Lieutenant Mike Paulet piloted the aircraft during the incident.

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