The Sea King from RAF Boulmer approaches the site where the GNAA air ambulance has landed near Browncove Crags. Photo: GNAAS

The Sea King from RAF Boulmer approaches the site where the GNAA air ambulance has landed near Browncove Crags. Photo: GNAAS

Two winter climbers were injured in separate incidents on the Helvellyn range.

Rescuers were called out first to aid a 21-year-old student from Lancaster who suffered a head injury when he fell from a route on Eagle Crag above Nethermost Cove.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted shortly before 11am today. The 999 call was received via the emergency roaming system, which does not allow rescuers to return the call. A team spokesperson said the person who made the call had poor reception, so rescuers had scant information.

The spokesperson said: “However, eight rescuers set off to the scene and met the climber and his friends descending down into the Grisedale valley.”

The climber had fallen about 40m (130ft), suffering several cuts and bruises.

The spokesperson added: “He was assessed by the team and taken back to the team’s base before he was transferred to hospital by ambulance.”

The rescue involved 14 volunteers from Patterdale MRT.

As the team was dealing with the Eagle Crag climber, police contacted them to say another climber had suffered serious injuries to his leg and was hanging on a rope on Browncove Crags, north-west of Helvellyn.

The team spokesperson said: “Patterdale MRT quickly passed this call to Keswick MRT as the incident was on the west side of Helvellyn.

“Eight members of Kirkby Stephen MRT, who were training in the Red Tarn area, went to the climber’s aid along with Keswick MRT, a Sea King helicopter and an air ambulance.”

The climber had suffered an open fracture to his leg in the fall.

The Great North Air Ambulance’s Pride of Cumbria helicopter flew to the scene.

A GNAA spokesperson said: “The aircrew assisted Keswick Mountain Rescue Team with locating the casualty, along with an RAF Sea King which winched the casualty from the cragside before flying him to hospital in Carlisle.”

A Keswick MRT spokesperson said its members arrived at the scene shortly after the air ambulance. The spokesperson said: “The casualty was still on his climbing rope having taken a 40m leader fall, held by his second.”

The Browncove Crags rescue is the second at the site in three days. On Thursday a climber was airlifted to hospital by Royal Navy Sea King helicopter after suffering spinal, head and neck injuries in the fall.

Last Saturday, David Barrow fell 300m (1,000ft) to his death when trying to help a companion who had fallen a short distance into Brown Cove, about 1km from the two incidents on Browncove Crags.

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