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A group of air cadets from Tyneside have been involved in a dramatic mountain rescue in the French Pyrenees.

The team of 6 cadets and 2 staff were taking part in a weeks adventure training in the eastern Pyrenees under the leadership of their commanding officer, flight lieutenant Will Close-Ash. For Will, this was his first time leading a group as a newly qualified IML.
The team came across the 7 stricken Belgian walkers whilst out on day walk near the mountain, Pic du Canigou (2784m).

photo: Dominic Jones watches over a casualty
Corporal Dominic Jones (17), from Holy Stone was one of the first cadets on the scene. "We were just out enjoying the mountain scenery when I spotted blood on the mountain slopes 300m in front of us. The commanding officer (CO) and I quickly moved up the slope to investigate and we found two men lying in the snow, covered in blood."

In fact, the men were part of a 7 man team that had come over the summit, but had fallen due to the icy conditions on the slopes. With two of their friends lying at the foot of 1000 foot ice slope, the other Belgian had no other choice but to call in mountain rescue and remain where they were. They didn't realise that Will and his team where in the area.

Dominic, a student at St Thomas More High School in North Shields continues the story. "While the CO and I got to work on the casualties, our other member of staff, pilot officer Emma Stewart brought two other cadets up to assist us. We just put into practice the first aid skills that we'd learned as part of our training."

For young pilot officer Emma Stewart, it was the first time she'd had to use her first aid skills. "We quickly assessed each causality and found that one man had broken ribs and a suspected punctured lung, the second man had a fractured arm. Both men were bleeding heavily from their heads and other parts of their bodies. We used three first aid kits patching them up!"

Once the two casualties were stable, the team had to decide what to do about the remaining stricken walkers.

"Our immediate concern was the casualties. Having been in the snow for over 30 minutes before we arrived, there was a real chance that they would succumb to hypothermia. Once they were stable we could start to think about the stranded walkers."

Will sent the rest of his cadets to a small refuge to wait for the emergency services, while he prepared for the most daring part of the rescue.

"We didn't know how long it would take for rescue team to arrive. We couldn't leave them stranded on the ridge; they would certainly get hypothermia and could easily slip, becoming casualties themselves. I decided that I would have to climb the slopes and attempt to bring them down." As a qualified international mountain leader, Will left Emma with two cadets and the casualties while he began the dangerous climb to the stranded walkers.

Air Rescue

photo: cadets Dominic Jones and Matthew Chamberlin
Corporal Matthew Chamberlin from Tynemouth watched the rescue unfold.
"The CO climbed the slope quickly and in no time at all he had reached the men.
We could see that he'd attached a rope to three of them and himself and started to bring them down the slope."

In fact, Will had collected all 5 men and lead them down the mountain towards safety. He put into practice the skills that he'd learnt while on his IML assessment with Plas Y Brenin.

"I felt confident that I was able to protect the walkers and myself." He said.
"The mountain rescue team arrived as we were about half way down the slope. It was a relief to see them!"

But the work wasn't over for the team of life-saving cadets. They had to explain in their best high-school French what had happened and assist the rescue officers in loading the casualties onto the helicopter.

photo: first casualty is lifted out
In total, the air cadet team were involved for three hours. Will concluded, "The rescue team offered us a lift out on their helicopter, but my guys were happy to walk off the mountain, I was really proud of them. To do what they did in a high mountain environment is something only the emergency services have to deal with. Yet they handled the situation with professionalism and composure, they are all real heroes."

A spokesperson for the French emergency services commented that had the cadets not been in the area, the casualties would surely have perished.



Video Footage

Rescue in the Pyrenees (1)

Rescue in the Pyrenees (2)