‘It's a miracle he survived', hillwalker plunges 160ft in horror sheer drop fall on Scots mountain
RESCUE MISSION 'It's a miracle he survived', hillwalker plunges 160ft in horror sheer drop fall on Scots mountain
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A HILLWALKER has baffled rescuers after miraculously surviving plunging more than 160 feet in Glen Coe.
The man in his 30s fell from a precarious ledge over 1600 feet up an iconic Scottish mountain.
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The man in his 30s fell from a precarious ledge over 1600 feet up an iconic Scottish mountain
Rescuers said he faced a sheer drop fall with 'almost certain fatal consequences'.
The man was with a group on Gearr Aonach, the middle of the Three Sisters range in Glen Coe.
But he fell in an area known as The Zig Zags last weekend.
Five members of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team were scrambled while another rescue was happening at the same time in Glen Etive – and what turned out to be the third in a day.
'He fell on a vertical drop of 164 feet,' said deputy team leader Brian Bathurst.
'It has become a particular accident blackspot – with three call outs recently to that same spot. It appears people are misjudging the junction.
'He hit a ledge on the way down and suffered multiple injuries and was in a critical condition. It is a miracle he survived. It is very rocky terrain.
'Where he fell has almost certain fatal consequences. He was very lucky indeed.'
An Inverness-based coastguard search and rescue helicopter flew the walker to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
His condition is unknown but is no longer life threatening.
Watch shock moment couple cheat death as they fall off 5,000ft mountain while taking risky shortcut to avoid queue
The team was so short-handed that day that veteran rescuer Ronnie Rogers, who is in his 70s, helped out with the Glen Etive rescue involving a man who suffered broken ribs after falling into a burn.
'Knowing we were going to be short handed, Ronnie once again laced up his boots and raced into the Glen to help despite the fact that after 50 years he officially 'retired' from front line team duties in November 2022,' added Mr Bathurst.
'He is a legend. Since stepping back, Ronnie has helped with team callouts by calling team members on the phone to deploy them to incidents so was well aware that help was needed that day.
'We would like to wish all the casualties well in their recovery and as always a huge thank you to the helicopter crews and everyone else involved.'
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