A mammoth late-night rescue effort was launched at the weekend after a climber suffered a shoulder injury abseiling from one of Skye's mountain peaks. The "epic call-out" took place on the evening of Sunday, September 18, when the island's Mountain Rescue Team were alerted to a man having been hurt on Sgurr Dubh Beag, a 733-metre summit within the famous Cuillin Hills.
The mission, which spanned a whopping 16 hours and lasted until Monday morning, kicked off when 15 team members were transported via helicopter to the Dubh's ridge to assist the man and prevent him from further harm. After reaching and treating the casualty, a descent of more than seven hours to Coruisk ensued, which was a technical nightmare for crews.
They ran into great trouble finding their way back to base, and experienced "back-breaking" pain hauling the heavy stretcher down a notoriously difficult hillside. They also struggled with a serious drop in communications after midnight, causing alarm for workers who were locked in a heart-stopping bid to find their way down the popular peak in the pitch dark.
