News
High winds hamper rescue efforts after man falls 150ft on mountain

High winds hampered a rescue at the weekend after a man fell approximately 150ft in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.
The callout at 2.10pm on Saturday, which involved 27 members of the team, was the sixth in the past fortnight for Kerry Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT), in what has been a busy start to the summer season.
Volunteers with KMRT were contacted by Aeromed after a man sustained multiple injuries having fallen approximately 150ft from the Cummeenpeasta Ridge (Black Valley side) in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.
Coastguard helicopter R115 was also tasked to the incident but was unable to winch from the location due to high winds.
A number of team members already out on the Reeks at the time proceeded directly to the scene to treat the casualty. R115 airlifted 12 members of the team and rescue equipment to Lough Googh and a further 10 members made their way on foot from the Black Valley. The casualty was secured to a stretcher on scene and lowered over steep complex terrain to a point above Lough Googh from where an airlift was attempted but proved unsuccessful.
The casualty was then lowered further to a point just above the outlet to Lough Googh from where he was airlifted successfully at approximately 11pm and transferred to University Hospital Kerry (UHK).