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Four rescued after getting into difficulties on mountain

Kevin Sharkey
BBC News NI Dublin reporter
D Barnes SLMRT responders awaiting the departure of Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 118. There are three team members in navy and red waterproofs, wearing hats and backpacks. They crouch on the grass. Mountains are visible in the background. The sky is cloudy. D Barnes
SLMRT responders watch the Irish Coast Guard helicopter depart

Four men have been rescued after getting into difficulties on a popular Irish mountain.

The group became disorientated during bad weather on Benbulben in County Sligo on Monday.

Gardaí (Irish police) were alerted as local weather conditions deteriorated with heavy rain and gusting winds.

The Sligo/Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team (SLMRT) and a coastguard rescue helicopter were deployed to the mountainside shortly before 15:00 local time.

However, the helicopter was unable to reach the group because of low cloud cover and poor visibility.

A SLMRT spokesperson said that amid "concern for the casualties" the helicopter transported a number of responders from the roadside to a location on the mountain close to the stranded group.

They eventually reached the group "not far from the summit of the mountain while the helicopter remained on scene just below the cloud base".

C Sexton SLMRT response vehicle with ICG Rescue 118 helicopter on standby near the base of the mountain. The vehicle is white with orange pattern. The helicopter is white and orange. There is a path and grass in the foreground with mountains in the background. It is cloudy. C Sexton
The response vehicle and helicopter near the base of the mountain

How were they brought off Benbulben?

The four men, who had travelled to Sligo from another part of the country, were assessed at the scene and "deemed to be onset hypothermic".

Responders set up an emergency shelter to help them to get warm enough to walk off the mountain.

"The team responders then escorted the casualties down the hill and handed them over to the waiting coastguard crew for further assessment and treatment," the spokesperson added.

The rescue team has wished the men "a speedy recovery".

They have also reminded hikers to check the weather forecast before setting out as "conditions can deteriorate much faster and to a worse degree than in lowland areas".

At 526m tall, Benbulben is known as Ireland's table-top mountain.