Five missing hillwalkers found safe

Feb 11 2013

Five hillwalkers missing overnight in the Scottish Highlands have been found by a search and rescue helicopter, the RAF has confirmed.

One member of the group is still missing, and teams are continuing to look for him, according to the spokesman.

A major search operation involving 112 people from the police, RAF and mountain rescue teams was launched when the party of six men were reported overdue in the Cairngorms on Sunday afternoon.

They are all understood to be students in their 20s from the Leeds area.

An RAF spokesman said five of the men were picked up by rescue helicopter 137, but one remains unaccounted for.

He said the five rescued hillwalkers are uninjured.

As well as the helicopter, the RAF has three other teams from Lossiemouth and Leuchars working on the ground.

The search is being co-ordinated by Northern Constabulary and Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, with assistance from Braemar and Dundonnell mountain rescue teams and officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who are thought to have been in the area on a training exercise.

Further help is being given by mountain rescue team members from the Lake District and Ogwen Valley in Wales, as well as sniffer dogs.