A Guardia Civil, mountain-rescue team was called out to rescue two climbers on the Sierra Nevada after they suffered a fall.
The accident occurred around 14.45h on Thursday. The climbers were on the last leg of crossing the Weathercock Canute, when owing to the verticallity of this area and because of the accumulated ice, one of them slipped, dragging his climbing companion with him as they were tethered together.
They fell around 50 metres ending up in the Corral del Veletasuffering injuries making it impossible to walk, much less climb, so they phoned 112 for help.
The Mountain Group belonging to the Guardia Civil were flown in by helicopter to the scene of the accident; the climbers had been located from the air then the chopper hovered low enough, making contact with only one runner, for the team to jump out.
The rescue team evaluated the victims’ injuries: one had a fractured vertebra and several cracked ribs. The other had a fractured pelvis. The rescue-team leader said that the amount of snowfall had cushioned their fall to some extend, which otherwise could have been fatal.
The rescuers had to carry them, one at a time, to Pradollano where the helicopter had landed, then they were flown to the 112 HQ in Granada, to be finally transferred in ambulance to the general hospital, traumatology.
(News: Sierra Nevada, Granada, Andalucia)