A young man out hiking had to be rescued by helicopter after taking a fall on his way up to the Mulhacen peak of the Sierra Nevada.

The accident occurred around 14.30h when the 25-year-old managed to injure his ankle. Fortunately he was not alone and his hiking companion was able to call 112 to alert the emergency services.

Both the hiker and his companion were on a forest track between El Pico de la Veleta and La Laguna Caldera so the Guardia Civil decided to send its helicopter belonging to the Sección de Rescate e Intervención en Montaña (Sereim) to pick him up and fly him to the PTS hospital in Granada.

Editorial comment: the Sereim helicopter is not an air ambulance and cannot take a stretcher; it’s more for transporting the rescue team and locating victims from the air. However, as the victim only had an injured ankle (probably twisted) they could accommodate him inside the aircraft. The question is, though, if his injury was not serious and the hikers were on a forest track, i.e., accessible for an ambulance… why did they use a helicopter, which is hideously expensive to operate?

(News: Capileira, Alpujarra, Granada, Andalucia)