A COUPLE left “incapacitated due to consuming a substance” had to be rescued in the Mournes on Sunday night.
Following what was the second of two similar callouts for the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team (MMRT) in recent weeks, the local charity has taken the opportunity “to reiterate the risks such activity poses”, especially in mountain terrain.
Police and members of the NI Ambulance Service, including its specialist HART (Hazardous Areas Response Team) were called in to assist during the late-night operation, when the alarm was raised by concerned relatives, worried about “an unconscious male”.
Details of the incident were revealed by the Newcastle-based mountain rescue team early on Monday, once the incident had concluded and the pair handed into the care of the ambulance service.
A spokesman for the MMRT volunteers explained that they were called out at 10.19pm, when contacted by the PSNI and requested “to assist a couple in the Mournes who’d become incapacitated due to consuming a substance.”
The initial call for assistance, he added, “was made by family members out of concern for a male reported to be unconscious”.
The MMRT member explained that “due to the nature of the situation” the team requested local police and NIAS HART “for support while responding”, with an ambulance crew also sent to the scene.
He added: “Thankfully, the couple were able to walk out with support and then transferred by team vehicle to road access for handover to NIAS and police.
“This is the second call of this nature in recent times and the team would like to reiterate the risks such activity poses, particularly in a mountainous area.”
The 15 MMRT volunteers who responded were released from the scene at 1.30am on Monday.
They, along with the police and NIAS representatives involved, were commended online for their efforts and ongoing commitment.
The ambulance service said they were contacted about the incident at 10.27pm on Sunday, and confirmed that “following initial assessment and treatment, no patients were taken from the scene.”
This was the first of two calls for help MMRT received in recent days.
On Monday afternoon, the volunteers went to the aid of a walker, who had suffered a debilitating injury whilst on the summit of Slieve Donard.
Team members were airlifted to the peak by a search and rescue helicopter, which flew from Dublin.
Once on the mountain, team members stabilised the walker’s injury before carrying them to the aircraft, which then flew them to Donard Park in Newcastle for onward journey to hospital.
The 14 members who responded to this rescue were released from the scene at 6.50pm.