Lake District: Hiker dies in fall from Blencathra ridge

A man has died in a fall from a ridge on a Lake District mountain.

He was traversing Sharp Edge on Blencathra on Friday when he slipped and fell down the steep gully on the north side.

His friend attempted to reach him from the bottom of the gully, but was unable to do so and Keswick Mountain Rescue team was alerted at 13:15 BST.

A volunteer was lowered down from the top to recover the casualty, who had suffered fatal injuries.

The air ambulance was also called, and a paramedic managed to climb up the gully.

A mountain rescuer was then winched down to "pick off" the paramedic, the casualty's friend and finally the casualty in a stretcher.

A Coastguard helicopter flew to the scene to assess if the deceased and his friend could be winched from the gully but the gusty and showery weather meant it was not suitable.

The crew eventually transferred the friend and then the casualty to Keswick.

The operation took more than five hours to complete and involved 17 people.

A spokesman for the team said: "Our deepest thoughts and sympathy go out to the family and friends of the casualty."

Elsewhere in the Lake District, there were five callouts for the Wasdale Mountain Rescue team in as many hours on Sunday.

The most challenging rescue was of two walkers who were stuck on Wastwater Screes, about 70m (230ft) from the top.

Using ropes and climbing gear the two walkers were helped down to a more stable location but they were still very high up the scree and the light was fading.

As walking them back down was considered too dangerous under those conditions with unstable and moving boulders, the decision was made to call in helicopter support to winch them off.

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