"Elderly Tourist
in Death Fall"
The Kingdom, 14/7/92.
An elderly woman tourist plunged to her death on Carrauntoohil
mountain late on Thursday night, and two other visitors were lucky
to escape with their lives after separate incidents on the peaks
of Kerry during the week. After an extensive search Kerry Mountain
Rescue personnel discovered the body of the 62-year-old English
woman at 10pm on Thursday night after a friend had sounded the
alarm some hours earlier.
She had climbed the mountain unaccompanied and, it is understood,
she fell to her death while descending. The body, which had extensive
injuries, was located by the Rescue Team near the area known as
the Devil's Ladder.
The incident occurred just three days after a dramatic helicopter
rescue was mounted to pluck another elderly English tourist from
Mangerton mountain. The woman had become separated from her husband
and son near the peak of the mountain and the Mountain Rescue
Team summoned the Marine Rescue chopper from Shannon which arrived
on the scene within half an hour. An alert Park Ranger spotted
the woman on the mountain through binoculars and directed the
helicopter to the scene through radio contact.
And on Sunday night another search was mounted after reports
were received that an 18-year-old man had lost his way on Carrauntoohil.
However, the man managed to find his way home despite the fact
that he had wandered down the wrong side of the mountain.
In the wake of the triple rescue, acting Kerry Mountain Rescue
Team co-ordinator Louis O'Toole warned the public of the dangers
of mountaineering without proper preparation. "People underestimate
the mountains - they have to treat them with respect" he
said, warning mountaineers never to climb alone.
