Rescuers at the scene on Minch Moor. Photo: Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team
A walker who was rescued after being found unconscious in his tent on a long-distance trail remains in a coma almost a week after the incident.
Phil Morgan, 49, of Stow, near Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, is in a critical condition after suffering carbon-monoxide poisoning in his tent.
He was reported missing on Thursday evening when he failed to return from a trip between Selkirk and Innerleithen on the Southern Upland Way.
Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team mounted a search and he was found unconscious in his tent on Minch Moor shortly after midnight on Friday.
It is believed he was poisoned by the fumes either from his stove or a gas lamp.
Dave Wright of the Tweed Valley MRT said the hillwalker had intended to camp overnight on the route.
“He had made a call to his partner on Wednesday evening to say he had pitched his tent but uncharacteristically, did not make a call the next morning,” Mr Wright said. “He then failed to return home at the expected time on Thursday afternoon and was reported overdue in the early evening.”
He was stretched by team members to one of their Land Rovers then transferred to an ambulance which took him to the Borders General Hospital in Melrose. A Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire was unable to get to the site because of low cloud.
He was treated at the hospital for hypothermia where it was discovered he had also suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, which is produced by incomplete combustion of fuel.
His partner Trudy Anderson has appealed to his friends to record stories for him in the intensive care unit to try to bring him out of his coma.
Mr Morgan is a keen mountain runner. Steve Penny, TVMRT team leader, said: “He required speedy evacuation from his position on the hill for treatment in hospital.
“Conditions were not ideal with poor visibility due to low cloud and mist, and this incident drew on many of the skills that our team members train hard for all year.”
