Pilgrim rescued after 13 hours on Croagh Patrick

A PILGRIM was rescued from Croagh Patrick after spending more than 13 hours on the mountain.

The man was one of two people assisted in recent days by Mayo Mountain Rescue Team after getting into difficulty on the Reek.

The call-out occurred on July 16 at 9 p.m. when the mountain rescue team were tasked by the gardaí after they received reports of an elderly gentleman in difficulty on his way down the mountain.

He had set off on his pilgrimage from Murrisk at seven that morning. He reached the top but decided to descend by an alternative route in the direction of Lecanvey.

Some walkers noticed the slow progress he was making after more that 13 hours on the mountain and made the call.

The man had no major injuries, just dehydration and exhaustion, and was stretchered off.

Earlier this week the team responded to a call to assist a young girl in difficulty while descending the Reek, and suspected heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Learning that the girl had fainted or at least had a reduced level of consciousness, support was requested from the Coast Guard helicopter for evacuation by air, even though the casualty's location was not far from the bottom of the mountain.

When the first response team reached the casualty they found she had been doused with water and cooled considerably, but was still unconscious/unresponsive.

They reported on their social media: 'The treatment for heatstroke is rapid, aggressive cooling so the decision to douse her with water possibly saved her life. We can’t take credit for that, but we were certainly happy to see it.'

Just after 8 p.m. the team carried her by stretcher to the helicopter and she was airlifted to Mayo University Hospital.