Injured pensioner, 77, and his grandson are rescued in late-night mountain operation... thanks to his phone's emergency SOS setting
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An injured pensioner and his grandson were saved from a mountain in a seven-hour rescue on Thursday after an emergency call from an iPhone alerted rescuers.
The phone's SOS feature contacted Cumbria Police around 8.30pm after two walkers found the 77-year-old grandfather, who had wrist and knee injuries, and his 19-year-old grandson near Skew Gill, a steep ravine on the route to Scafell Pike in the Lake District.
A Coastguard helicopter flew to the site but could not land because of bad weather while 14 volunteers from Wasdale Mountain Rescue made their own way to the walkers before beginning an urgent evacuation.
The two walkers who had found the pair had stayed with them until help arrived, though their head torches had run out and the rescuers gave them replacements to walk back with.
After stretchering the grandfather from the hill, his rescuers handed him over to paramedics before returning to their base shortly before 3.30am.
A statement from the mountain rescue volunteers said: 'The team arrived, assessed and warmed up both casualties, and found the 77-year-old also had a wrist and knee injury; an urgent evacuation of the hill was commenced.
Volunteers from Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team came to the aid of a grandfather, 77, and his grandson, 19, who were walking near Scafell Pike
The pair were discovered by two walkers who used the emergency SOS feature on an iPhone to ask for help
'The two walkers who had come across them had remained with them and their head torches had run out; as they were confident of their route back to Seathwaite, head torches were loaned to them to get back to their car.
'The casualty was stretchered off the hill and handed over to NWAS [North West Ambulance Service] along with his grandson. The team returned to base to dry out the equipment before heading home.'
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