Prayers said after climbing tragedy

Jan 20 2013

Prayers have been said in the Scottish Highlands for four climbers who were swept to their deaths in an avalanche.

The climbers were among a party of six on Bidean Nam Bian, a mountain near Glencoe.

It is believed they were descending from a peak on the south side of the valley when the snow-covered slope they were crossing broke away, engulfing five of them and sending them hundreds of feet down the mountain.

The Rev Moira Herkes, who led a service at St Munda's Church in nearby Ballachulish, told the congregation: "We include in our prayers thoughts for the deceased in yesterday's tragic accident on the mountain and their families.

"Somehow life must continue. We accept the challenges of nature as part of our living."

She added: "We also pray for the people who are injured, both physically and emotionally.

"And we give our thanks to those prepared to risk their lives in the saving of others, and do so with a sense of commitment and through thinking beyond themselves."

Glencoe and Lochaber mountain rescue teams and police were scrambled and following a major search two men and two women were found dead, buried beneath the snow.

Another man who stayed with the teams to help the search survived, while a woman is in Belford hospital in Fort William with serious head injuries. The four dead climbers have yet to be named.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has called it "an appalling tragedy", saying "to lose four people from a party of six is truly devastating".