Volunteers from the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team helped to rescue three different causalities in one day.
The team were taking part in a training weekend which turned into the busiest weekend ever. The weekend marked the 43rd birthday of the BPMT team, but celebrations were cut short this year.
After a long night out in the Trough of Bowland fells on Friday and rescuing a ‘lost farmer’ from a steep gully in the Brennand area on Saturday, the team had hoped for an easier day on Sunday.
However, at 10:51am a call came through from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) that a gentleman had fallen approximately 50ft from the sky while paragliding on Parlick fell.
The team reached the injured man shortly after North West Air Ambulance (NWAA) landed.
Team members transferred the casualty to a vacuum mattress (full body splint) as suspected spinal injuries meant that it was vital to keep him as still as possible. They then carried him up the hill to the waiting NWAA helicopter.
Man in his 20s found by dog walker
At 12:21pm the team were just about to return to our base when the second callout came to a casualty in Beacon Country Park near Skelmersdale.
Again, team members travelled to assist a male in his 20s who had been found by a local dog walker lying in a hedge in the woods. Given the location they also requested support from Bolton Mountain Rescue Team who were closer to the scene. The male was treated for a medical incident and transferred to an ambulance.
Woman suffers dislocated knee
Then at 4:31pm another callout came through for a female who had fallen down a steep gully into a stream and suffered a dislocated knee at White Coppice.
Team members located and treated the lady and her kneecap was relocated by a doctor. She was then transferred to a Bell stretcher, so that she could be winched out by a Coast Guard helicopter (HMCG) from Caernarfon. The casualty was flown down to a field where she was carried her to an ambulance.
Team Leader, Julian Earnshaw said: “When we test our trainees we try and make it as realistic as possible, but none of them were expecting to be getting involved with 2 helicopters and 3 casualties in one day.
“They all performed effortlessly and I’m really proud of how well the whole team worked together to ensure we gave all three casualties the best care possible.”
The training weekend was planned for trainees to put into practice the skills they have learnt over the last year through a set of challenging scenarios involving night navigation, searching, treating and evacuating injured people and using ropes to safely access and rescue casualties from steep ground.
Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team is a charity consisting entirely of volunteers who are on call 24/7 365 days a year to help those in need in remote and inaccessible locations.
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