During probably the coldest weekend this winter, the Guardia Civil, mountain-rescue teams were out on Saturday rescuing a total of eleven people.
In what amounted to two different rescue missions, both in the same area, these team members were operating in sub-zero conditions, putting their own lives at risk.
Both rescues took place in the vicinity of La Peña del Toro, in Sierra Seca, an area belonging to the Sierra de Castril Natural Park within the municipality of Huéscar.
Around 09:20h on Saturday, the emergency coordination centre, 112 alerted the Guardia Civil to the plight of a family consisting of three adults and an 11-year old. They had become trapped in their vehicle in the snow on their way to the Refugio de Prado del Conde. Consequently, they had to spend the night in the vehicle without food or water.
Given these circumstances, the Guardia Civil rescue helicopter was despatched with two specialists from the Mountain-Rescue unit (GREIM) to the location point. Flying conditions were pretty bad, which delayed the take off: overcast skies, high winds, and sub-zero temperatures.
One of the dangers facing them was the ice affecting the rotors, as they had to fly higher to clear the cloud base.
The helicopter landed as close as it safely could and the 2-man team made its way on foot. The vehicle occupants were in good health, despite a night trapped under these conditions. They were escorted back to the helicopter and flown out in two separate groups and landed at La Noguera heliport. There, they were greeted by patrols from the Huéscar and La Puebla de Don Fadrique Guardia posts.
The second rescue began after a family called in to say that they had lost contact with another family who they were supposed to rendevous with at the Refugio de Prado del Conde. This second family had set out for the meeting point hours earlier but couldn’t be raised by phone owing to a lack of coverage.
The GREIM team was unable to approach the refuge by air due to the complicated weather conditions, so they covered approximately three kilometres on foot until they came across two vehicles stuck in the snow with seven people inside them. Amongst them were two minors (aged 12 and 15) and a 60-year-old with physical issues that prevented him from walking properly.
The rescue team had to cut a path on the return journey through snow depths ranging between 30 and 50 centimetres deep, with several icy patches and snowdrifts. There was also a strong blizzard blowing adding to the elderly person’s walking difficulties. This slowed down the return to the Air Unit’s evacuation zone. This time it took three separate trips to ferry the seven civilians and rescue team back to air base.
But it wasn’t over because around 13.00h, the emergency coordination centre informed the Guardia Civil about another family in the La Calahorra area needing assistance for an 11-year-old child with a sprained ankle, sustained during a sports activity in the snow.
Coordination between GREIM teams, the family, the Service Operations Centre, and the Traffic Operations Centre (DGT) brought about the rescue and a road escort to a medical centre by a patrol from the Guadix Traffic Detachment.
(News: Huéscar, Altiplano, Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Mountain Rescue in Adverse Conditions, Rescue Helicopter, Sierra Seca, Refugio de Prado del Conde
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