Four rescued in avalanche
Above: Mountain rescue teams had to call in the air ambulance to help reach the walkers.
Two men are in intensive care in hospital, after an avalanche yesterday in the Lake district. The incident happened at about 2pm on Pinnacle Ridge.
Two men from Redcar on Teesside were swept 750 feet down the mountainside. A 23 year-old is still in a critical condition after suffering head injuries. The other man - who's 21 - suffered multiple fractures, but is apparently stable. Meanwhile two other men - both from County Durham and in their 50s - escaped without any serious injuries.
19 volunteers from the Patterdale mountain rescue team were involved in the rescue. They had to call in help from army search and rescue teams, as well as the local air ambulance service.
Martin Cotterill was leading the team:
"Two of them were certainly very poorly. We got them on stretchers and had them airlifted out. We've had a fatality in that valley in years gone by. Yesterday it was an unstable slope, the snow avalanched - and swept all four off their feet."
"It was quite an awkward place to get to, the ground was very very loose. I went up in the first helicopter, but that couldn't land - they dropped us off nearby and we walked in. "
"This is something we train for, we're on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year. These two peoiple in hospital now, if they've got any chance - that's down to the hard work of the team. "
Bauer Media