Passing doctor helps rescuers with fall victim airlifted off Cuillin mountain range on Skye

A passing doctor and mountaineering instructors came to the aid of rescuers called to action after a climber fell.

The hiker on the Cuillin mountain range on the Isle of Skye suffered a Colles fracture, a complete fracture of the radius bone of the forearm close to the wrist, as well as cuts and bruises after falling around 3m in the upper reaches of Coire Banachdich.

Police Scotland called on the Skye Mountain Rescue Team at 12.39pm on Tuesday but with the location of the casualty under cloud cover it was unreachable by helicopter.

Instead, a total of 20 team members set off on foot. On arrival, the fall victim was given analgesic and their injuries were splinted.

Skye Mountain Rescue called to aid a fall victim on the Cuillin. Skye Mountain Rescue

Several mountaineering instructors and a passing doctor, who were in the vicinity, came to the casualty’s aid.

The team carefully packaged and then stretcher-carried the casualty down the mountain, beneath cloud level to a location where Coastguard helicopter R948 was able to safely land.

In worsening weather, the casualty was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital.

A spokesperson for the Skye Mountain Rescue Team said: “We’d like to give a shout out to several mountaineering instructors and also a passing doctor who were in the vicinity and came to the casualty’s aid.

There were several notable Cuillin rescues for the Skye Mountain Rescue Team in the last week. Skye Mountain Rescue

“They even helped with the carry too – much appreciated as always.”

It comes after a busy period of rescues for the Skye crew on the Cuillin in recent days.

On the previous Thursday afternoon, the team was called to rescue a walker who had fallen in Fionn Coire and suffered multiple lower leg injuries.

High winds and low cloud meant that no helicopter assistance was available as 22 rescuers made their way from Sligachan to the casualty’s reported location at around 800m.

After assessing them and administering pain relief, it took several hours to stretcher the casuality off the mountains to the closest road at Glenbrittle where an ambulance took them on to hospital.

On Saturday, Skye Mountain Rescue Team was called out again after reports to the police of an unconscious 60-year-old on Blaven.

Despite the best efforts of the coastguard helicopter, high winds and low cloud made an air recovery unfeasible and a 16-strong team made its way up the mountain to a location close to the Great Prow.

The team found casualty fully conscious but unable to walk so had to be stretchered and lowered down into Fionna Coire where he was then carried a further kilometre down into Coire A’ Caise and below the cloud from where the R948 helicopter crew was able to transport them on to Raigmore Hospital.

In a statement the team passed on condolences to the family of local Skye man Donnie Martin as several members of the team were unable to attend his funeral due to the call out.

Skye Mountain Rescue Team is a charity made up of 35 unpaid volunteers that has been providing assistance to walkers and climbers on the Isle of Skye 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since the 1950s.

You can find out more about the organisation here skyemrt.org/.