The crew of the North West Air Ambulance requested that
we assist them with a female who had sustained a lower leg injury on the canal
towpath near Salwick. Air Ambulance had landed in a field within 50m of the
casualty. The Team carried the casualty on a mountain rescue stretcher down a
very steep bank and across hedges to the aircraft. A quite difficult carry but
one of the shortest we have ever done! (12 Rescue Person Hours)
26. 30th June. Spot Pick-up.
12:09 Hrs. River Ribble near Ribchester. Team Leader contacted direct
by Team Leader of Rossendale & Pendle Team. They were responding to an incident
at Ribchester and requested we assist. A male telecommunications worker,
inspecting telegraph poles on the banks of the River Ribble had tripped and
sustained an ankle injury. Both Teams combined to carry the casualty to the
waiting Air Ambulance at Dewhurst House. See Incident 25/2011 for an almost
identical rescue. (9 Rescue Person Hours)
25. 28th May. Search. 19:28
Hrs. Silverdale Area, North Lancashire. Lancashire Police paged the
Team’s Incident Controls with a request for us join the developing search for a
vulnerable elderly female, aged 76, missing in the Silverdale area of North
Lancashire. Missing since about 17:15 Hrs. Coastguard SAR, RNLI Hovercraft,
Police helicopter and other Police resources had searched the obvious high-risk
areas of the coast from Silverdale north to Arnside and south to Jenny Brown’s
Point but to no avail. The Team was tasked with searching footpaths, woods,
crags and farmland as the search area was increased in size. The search
continued until approx. 03:00 Hrs when it was decided to suspend operations and
continue in the morning. When the search recommenced the support of Kendal
Mountain Search and Rescue Team was requested. Due to the heavy rain throughout
the night concern for the missing person was growing. Early in the afternoon,
the female was located in dense undergrowth near Jenny Brown’s Point by a search
dog from the Lake District. Much to the relief of everyone she was safe and
uninjured. The following Mountain Rescue resources used in this search:
20 x Bowland Pennine MRT, 15 x Kendal
MRT, 1 x Bolton MRT members
Search dogs and handlers from SARDA
(England) – Bowland Pennine MRT, SARADA (Wales) – Bolton MRT, Lake District
Mountain Search Dogs - Kendal, Duddon & Furness and Penrith MRT’s.
(Approx. 300 Rescue Person Hours by
Voluntary Mountain Rescue Teams)
Other resources including Police
Helicopter, Dog Unit, Support Units, PCSO’s, Coastguard SAR, RNLI Hovercraft,
Lancashire F&RS Urban Search & Rescue Units.
Mention should also be made of the
many members of the public who helped in the search and provided valuable local
knowledge.
