A man in his 20s has died following a 200 metre fall while climbing a mountain in north Sligo’s Gleniff Horseshoe area on Thursday.
A 27-year-old Spanish woman, who was with him, was rescued from a dangerous cliff shortly after.
Emergency services were alerted at about 4.30pm by a passer-by who witnessed the hiker falling.
Members of Sligo Leitrim mountain rescue team who were winched on to the mountain by the Strandhill-based 118 Coast Guard rescue helicopter, made their way on to the ledge, where the woman was stranded.
A second mountain rescue team recovered the body of the young man – about 100m from the spot where a Polish climber fell to his death in 2008.
Alan Sayers of the Sligo Leitrim mountain rescue team said the tragedy could have been even worse if the young couple’s plight had not been witnessed by a member of the public who raised the alarm.
The man’s body was recovered from under the Anacoona cliffs in an area between the Ben Bulben and Ben Whisken mountains at about 9.20pm.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to Sligo University Hospital where a post mortem will be conducted at a later date.
Mr Sayers said the woman was taken off a ledge in a very inaccessible part of the mountain.
Abseil
“The helicopter would not have been able to get in close there, but they winched eight of us on to the cliff and we abseiled down to her,” he explained.
Members of Donegal mountain rescue team assisted in the recovery of the man’s body close to an area known locally as “the miner’s track”.
About 20 rescue personnel were involved in the operation. It is understood that the couple had not been reported missing.
Rescuers were puzzled as to how the couple had managed to get on to the ledge which was described as being on a treacherous part of the cliff.
Mr Sayers who described it as a “very very distressing experience” for the woman, said the mountain rescue team were thankful that she had been rescued safely as conditions were quite misty at the time.
The scene of the tragedy is about a kilometre from “Diarmuid and Gráinne’s cave”, a well-known landmark which has become very popular with climbers.
Sligo Leitrim mountain rescue team have carried out “multiple rescues” in this area over the past six months, according to Mr Sayers.
“It has become fashionable with people who are influenced by influencers and has featured on TikTok”, he said.
Mr Sayers said that while the mountain rescue team were “not there to police people”, he recommended that anyone hiking in this area should be experienced and well-prepared and wearing proper footwear.
The woman who was rescued did not suffer any serious physical injuries, it is understood, but was described as being in a frantic state when the rescue team reached her.
Garda inquiries into the incident are ongoing, they said.
