DONEGAL Mountain Rescue (DMR) have issued a warning to mountain walkers and climbers to be prepared for all eventualities after a man was stranded on Errigal on Saturday for five hours.
Their warning came after Saturday’s rescue of a man who reported being on his own, with a failing battery in his torch and no food. With the patchy mobile reception he managed to contact Gardai and they in turn alerted DMR.
Speaking about the rescue a spokesperson for DMR stated: “ At 23:25 on Saturday, August 5, we received a call from An Garda Siochana to assist a person crag fast on Mount Errigal.
The person stated he was on his own with no food and a head torch with low battery. He had been on the mountain 4-5 hours and could see Dunlewey from his location.
“Communication was established with the person and details were taken. The team explained they would use Sarloc to locate his phone; however, a short time after this, we were unable to contact the person again due to poor phone signal,” the spokesperson said.
He added that DMRT responded with two hasty teams to the area and were met by members of An Garda Siochana at Errigal car park.
En route the team were able to use the search system Sarcall to locate the person and a plan was put together.
After a quick search the exact location was established and the person extracted to the road, where they were transported to their vehicle after being deemed safe and well.
“We are relieved that the person who needed our assistance was uninjured and able to safely return home.”
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