Episode 3 Helicopter Rescue

The mountains and coastline of Wales,

both beautiful and treacherous.

The iconic yellow Sea King helicopters

rescue hundreds of people every year.

In Wales, the RAF Search and Rescue Force is the busiest in Britain.

In this series, we follow real rescue stories,

from mountainside to hospital bedside.

Our cameras have unprecedented access to the lifesaving work

of the Sea King crews.

Even with a royal pilot in its ranks,

it's business as usual for RAF Search and Rescue.

This time on Helicopter Rescue,

the tough Welsh terrain claims its latest victims.

In agony, halfway up Snowdon, this walker needs a lift.

It was quite obvious that his kneecap was up into his thigh area.

A desperate search for a missing kite surfer, lost at sea.

I think he's going to be under the surface now,

so I'm confident I'll get a head and shoulders in the water.

If he's still alive.

And alone and in agony in this vast terrain,

how one inventive walker caught the eye of the Sea King.

Snowdonia, home to the highest mountains in Wales.

With 15 peaks over 3,000 feet high,

winds at the summit can sometimes reach 150mph,

and winter temperatures can plummet to minus 20 Celsius.

The local RAF Search and Rescue crew based on Anglesey

know these infamous mountains only too well.

One is Devil's Kitchen,

which the name of itself is not a particularly nice thought,

but it's a very, very steep bowl towards Tryfan.

Flying round it can get very interesting.

You get bumped around a hell of a lot.

If you're in hover, it can get very interesting.

Snowdonia quite a tight area.

There's a couple of particular areas, Crib Goch and Tryfan,

that are quite dangerous, in fact.

But these challenging conditions

don't stop ten million people from visiting Snowdonia every year.

The Snowdonia mountains are incredibly accessible,

but they're not entirely risk-free.

They're right next to main roads, you can park by the side of the A5

and you're straight at the base of Tryfan.

Obviously, Snowdonia, big car parks, Llanberis,

up the Llanberis track, Pen-y-Pass.

At the end of the day, people can get ill or injured

just about anywhere,

it's quite spectacular where people can hurt themselves.

Today, Snowdonia claims its latest victim.

Hello, police, can I help you?

Where are you, sir?

A 999 call comes through to the police

from a remote Welsh mountain in southern Snowdonia.

Is someone with you, sir, or are you alone?

OK. Sit tight, don't move, don't put any weight on your leg.

We'll get somebody to you.

The police now contact the RAF's rescue control centre

up in the north of Scotland to request their help.

Kinloss Rescue.

All right. Slipped with an injured leg.

'He's on Foel Wen.'

Nearest asset is going to be Rescue 122.

It's a job for the Search and Rescue crew at RAF Valley.

Information I've got, he's got plenty of water,

warm clothing, but not much battery life on his mobile.

Got any idea on his injuries?

'Slipped with injured leg.'

Injured leg.

OK? Cheers, bye.

The chap has slipped and hurt his leg, down near Bala.

Rescue 122 are airborne.

Over his radio,

Radar Operator Dave Taylor gets an update on the casualty.

Your casualty is a 60-year-old male with leg injuries.

We are unsure of his exact location.

Only 20 minutes after receiving the 999 call,

the crew are scrambled and on their way.

500 miles north from Valley

is the RAF's Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at Kinloss.

Every year, they receive hundreds of calls

from the emergency services across the UK.

'This is Kinloss Rescue'.

'We've got a 21-year-old male'.

'..got a crack in his lower back'.

'We have one vehicle. We've got an adult, a minor and a baby on board'.

'Open fracture with a high pain score'.

Kinloss Rescue is the central hub that deploys RAF, coastguard

and Royal Navy helicopters to answer the cries for help.

Every organisation needs a central hub and, if you like,

we are the heart of what goes on, but we're not the pit face.

There are people out there risking their lives in a way that we're not.

We just risk sweat and grey hairs.

It's a military service,

but over 97% of calls to Kinloss are to help civilians.

A vast number of those callouts come from Wales.

The two busiest RAF units are Chivenor and Valley.

Typically, each year, you could expect up to 300 rescues,

around about that figure from each,

and I think, this year, Valley is very slightly ahead.

Requests for helicopter assistance

mainly come from the police and coastguard.

The team here at Kinloss have to decide which Sea King crew

is tasked to each rescue.

Rescue 122, Kinloss Rescue, over.

INAUDIBLE CHATTER

'Rescue 122, Kinloss Rescue,

'those details pertaining to the Bala job...'

Today, Kinloss have scrambled Rescue 122 from RAF Valley

to a man injured on the Berwyn mountains near Bala.

The team are trying to pinpoint the casualty's exact location,

when another call comes in, and it's also from North Wales.

Just starting a new job. We've already got one going on with you.

What's the nature of the incident, please?

'The caller and his wife are stuck on a ledge south of Tryfan.'

OK.

Cragfast.

Two climbers are stuck on a ledge

up a mountain called Tryfan in the Ogwen Valley.

Rescue 122 is the closest helicopter,

but they're already on their way to an injured walker

in the Berwyn Mountains near Bala.

Thank you. Bye. Right, how safe are these cragfast guys?

They've got good battery on their phone.

Because this guy, we're not sure where he is,

so there's a search involved on this bloke.

OK. If they can just in, snatch and go, then that's one thing, but we

can't hang about because we need to get on the search with the other one.

There are two cries for help, but only one helicopter.

It's now up to Kinloss to decide where to send Rescue 122.

-OK.

-We'll continue for the other job.

We're going to continue for the other job.

Radio Officer Graham Topping informs the crew of the decision.

Rescue 122, Kinloss Rescue, request you continue

to original incident of male with injured leg, over.

I've got two guys on a ledge, up on this position, here.

However, they are in a safe position, they've been in contact,

and we've got mountain rescue troops on the way.

Against that, I've got a 60-year-old here who's injured.

We're not exactly sure where he is,

so I'm prioritising that job at the present time.

The local Mountain Rescue Team will now take care

of the cragfast climbers on Tryfan.

Rescue 122 continue the search for the injured walker

in the Berwyn Mountains.

Go to the grid, see what's there, and then go and find him.

From the details given in the 999 call, Kinloss Rescue can work out

a map grid reference to the casualty's exact location.

Despite the fact we will get a reasonably accurate grid reference

to go to, we always understand

that there's a degree of searching involved to find them.

They might not be totally sure of their position.

Any description of what he might be wearing?

'No, not at this time.'

There are quite a few people up here for this guy to be in

a benign condition and no-one else has seen him.

They can't find him.

From Kinloss, Graham tries to guide the crew to the scene.

122, Kinloss. The casualty can see the helo over Cadair

from where he is.

He's on the ridge of Craig Berwyn.

As Rescue 122 continues to search the expanse of the Berwyn mountains,

yet another call comes into Kinloss.

Hi, Charlie speaking.

'Hiya, we're just wondering if you can help us with a job in Newquay.'

'Someone who's fallen off a cliff, is stuck in a cove,

'they need winching out.

'He has possibly fitted with a spinal injury.'

Rescue 169 from Chivenor in North Devon are already airborne

on a training sortie.

Rescue 169. Casualty is a male with spinal injuries.

'He's fallen from a cliff 15 feet, and had a seizure.'

They've been scrambled to a rescue

in a small cove near Newquay in Cornwall.

It's a stag do that's gone horribly wrong.

Today's Aircraft Captain is Taff Wilkins from Port Talbot.

Anyone who needs the aircraft will phone though to Kinloss,

then they'll phone us, they'll give us the details of the job we need.

We'll get airborne, and that's where they come into their own, really.

This is Kinloss Rescue. Sheet 200. Sheet 200.

Chivenor is quite notable

because it has a very high turnover of operations,

and they're well-known for their 45 minute start-to-finish operations,

which they do extremely well.

In the summer you get a lot of beach jobs, surfers in difficulties,

kids missing, people cut off by tides,

people going to beaches that get caught out.

That's our bread and butter, really.

That's stuff we train for day in, day out.

Taff and the crew from Devon head to their casualty in Newquay.

A stag weekend coasteering event has left one man seriously injured.

After jumping off a cliff, he landed awkwardly in the sea.

Rescue 169 need to get to him as soon as they can.

Back in the Berwyn Mountains,

Rescue 122 is still searching for their casualty.

It's very difficult to spot the casualty in a terrain like this,

but the Sea King can search large areas in a relatively short time.

Suddenly, Radar Operator Dave Taylor sees someone in the distance.

Gents, I've got someone signalling at 11 o'clock.

Far distance, waving something white.

That is a long way away.

But it looks like he's signalling, to me.

Or something's flashing. It's worth having a look at.

OK, yeah.

Yeah, looks like an emergency blanket.

I think that's our man.

Waving a silver-lined blanket, at last, the casualty's been found.

Rescue 122, Kinloss Rescue, over.

We believe we've found our casualty.

Roger. Standby.

Winchman Dave McDowell heads straight to the casualty

to assess his injuries.

All right?

Have you got any pain anywhere else at all?

No.

Just a simple slip? Didn't fall, didn't tumble?

Alan White called 999 after he slipped and fell awkwardly.

He looks to have injured his knee quite badly.

Going to put you in a stretcher

and take you to Glan Clywd Hospital to x-ray it.

For Alan, the next stop on his afternoon hike

is Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl.

Kinloss Rescue, Kinloss Rescue, this is Rescue 122. Over.

'Rescue 122. Kinloss Rescue. Over.'

Kinloss Rescue. Rescue 122. We are inbound now to Rhyl Hospital

with an ETA of just over five minutes.

'This is Kinloss Rescue. Roger, out.'

Meanwhile, in north Cornwall, Taff Wilkins and his crew

reach the stag do casualty, on Newquay beach.

The casualty is in a small, narrow cove,

and there's nowhere for the helicopter to land,

so winchman Andy Dixon is lowered down

to bring the casualty up in the stretcher.

Paramedics fear that Dominic Stratton from London

has severe spinal injuries.

It's too risky to carry him by stretcher

up the steep and rocky slopes to the waiting ambulance,

so he's winched up to the Sea king.

Winching in.

OK, mate, you happy?

At the cabin door.

Winch out.

Safe on board, it's only a short journey to hospital in Plymouth.

The crew update the control centre in Kinloss.

Rescue 169. Kinloss Rescue. Over.

This is Kinloss Rescue. That's all copied and has been arranged.

It's been a busy day for Kinloss.

Two successful rescues, and the cragfast walkers on Tryfan

were brought safely down by the local Mountain Rescue team.

It is the best job in the world, without a doubt.

Because every day, somebody is in difficulty and needs our help

and we provide it, and you go home with such a feeling of well-being

at the end of the day.

'Kinloss Rescue. Roger, out.'

For the RAF's Search and Rescue crews, the Welsh landscape

is the perfect place to develop their rescue techniques.

We're extremely lucky in Valley, or unlucky, if you want to look

at it a different way, but we have the mountains, the coast, the sea.

We have everything right on our doorstep within 15 minutes.

We understand a lot of people go to the mountains for a quiet stroll,

and the last thing they want to hear is a big yellow helicopter

going round above their heads,

but with the environmental conditions,

you can't get any better for search and rescue,

having so many different areas to train and to operate in.

I think most people are really good about it,

and a lot of people see it and go,

"One day I might end up needing that."

As well as using helicopters,

the RAF Search and Rescue Force also has four dedicated

Mountain Rescue teams, one of which is based at RAF Valley.

We have located the casualty and are moving to his location. Over.

The 20-strong team are all RAF volunteers.

They train most weekends in and around Snowdonia.

Can you start getting the stretcher together for us?

Sometimes, having ground support is invaluable to the Sea King crews.

Casualties are often found in difficult locations.

That's when the Mountain Rescue team can transfer them to a safer place

and prepare them for the Sea King.

But it's not all about mountains.

Over a third of callouts to the Search and Rescue force

are from the coastguard.

They often train with other rescue agencies like the RNLI lifeboats.

Where the mountains offer us

a challenge in the fact that the weather and the terrain itself, over

the water, for boats, they move, so it's the same, except the target

we're trying to get to is moving in a rough sea state or in the wind,

and obviously people in the water is a whole new technique again.

Over the water, I'd say, searching-wise,

it is the hardest one we do.

You're a tiny head bobbing around in these big waves, there's white

water, and it's such a big area, you can drift, you can blow in the wind.

There's a number of things that happen to you in the water,

whereas on land, yes, there are going to be things getting

in the way of you, but on the whole, we can usually find you a lot easier.

Today, a call from Holyhead coastguard

will put that sea search training to the test.

'Rescue 122. Holyhead Coastguard.'

'Male was last seen entering the water believed to be trying

'to retrieve his kite surfboard.'

'Male was wearing a black wetsuit and no buoyancy aid.'

-No buoyancy aid.

-Oops.

On the shores of Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog,

Rescue 122 from RAF Valley is looking for a missing kite surfer.

He was last seen 30 minutes ago.

It's October. The crew know that a wet suit

can't protect him for long from the cold sea.

Hypothermia can set in within minutes.

Time is ticking.

Black Rock Sands is there.

So from now, really, we're actively searching.

We've got various tools to help us find people.

The majority of the time, the best asset to use is your eye.

Sometimes the best way is just to get everyone looking out the window.

You're in the general area, you fly along, searching.

With your eye, you can see maybe some movement in the corner of your eye,

your peripheral vision, which could be absolutely critical,

and that might be the only chance you get to find them.

There's something white coming to the left of us now.

That's the board.

They've found the kite board, but no trace of the missing kite surfer.

The crew fire a flare

so that the RNLI crew can check the surrounding area.

Search and Rescue crews know that sea rescues are never easy.

It's a constantly changing environment.

The crew's action can easily mean the difference

between life and death for the casualty.

I remember one particular job, it was one of my first few jobs,

was about two guys on a jet ski,

who were missing out to sea about a mile off the coast,

and they were basically in the water for roughly four and a half hours.

And after an airborne search with ourselves, the coast guard

and the lifeboat, we managed to spot these two guys poking out the water.

Trying to find them was a needle in a haystack,

and after about 45 minutes of searching,

looked out the window and saw these two guys, and one of them was

wearing a life-preserver, and just saw orange strip on his shoulder,

and they were hugging each other,

and they were absolutely severe hypothermic,

and they were blue and really quite ill.

Got them to hospital and they made a full recovery.

Back on the shores of Porthmadog, it's been 45 minutes

since they spotted the kite board.

The surfer is still missing.

As night falls, Rescue 122 are still searching.

I think he's going to be under the surface now.

I'm pretty confident there's a head and shoulders possibly in the water.

If he's still alive.

It doesn't look good.

The kite surfer's been missing for more than an hour and a half.

Exhaustion and unconsciousness can strike

after less than an hour in the water.

But minutes later, the coast guard call in with some good news.

Roger.

The missing kite surfer has been found on the beach nearby,

safe and sound.

A positive result is the aim for all the Search and Rescue crews,

whichever way the casualty reaches safety.

People sometimes end up getting into bother,

but we're not there to judge.

We're there to make sure if they do need help, we're there to help them.

The RAF Search and Rescue crews

are always on standby for the next callout, whatever the weather.

It can get a bit dull without a job sometimes.

It depends. If the weather's good, then we can get out training.

I think the worst days for us are the days

when the weather's really bad.

You can't go flying,

and the minutes can feel like hours sometimes.

Everyone's been quite sensible so far.

I'd be surprised if there's anyone up in the hills,

but there usually is, regardless of the weather.

But all quiet so far.

The crew are on rolling shifts and eat, rest and sleep on base.

Between callouts, they make the most of their quiet periods.

They may not last for long.

..actually, that's a very good point.

We're here for 24 hours, so we'll start at nine in the morning,

we'll be here till nine tomorrow morning, so at some point

in the day we've just got to take a bit of a wind-down time and relax.

So we watch a bit of telly and just sometimes sit

and have a chat and a cup of tea.

We've got no real way of knowing when a job will come in, either,

so we might work hard all the way through the day,

work hard into the evening, get back for a couple of hours to

chill out, and that could be when the job comes in

and it could last us for the rest of the night, you just don't know,

so we try and grab a bit of downtime when we can.

Plus, Ed drives you mad anyway after a while.

24 hours with this guy!

The vast majority of callouts to RAF Valley

are from the mountains of Snowdonia,

and today Wales's highest peak has claimed its latest victim.

Kinloss Rescue. Rescue 122. En route to Snowdon.

Person with a dislocated knee.

Estimate nine minutes to on-scene.

Rescue 122 heads for one of the more popular routes up Snowdon -

the Miners' Track.

Rescue 122. Receiving you loud and clear.

It's a party of four who are en route at this time

and include a doctor.

We also have a doctor on board.

On board today is Dr Linda Dykes.

Her Emergency Department at Bangor is part of a survey

of mountain casualties called the Mountain Medicine Project.

Their research reveals the reality of being injured in Snowdonia.

Knowing the pattern of injuries that we get in Snowdonia

is actually very helpful.

When patients are seriously injured,

there's a phrase we use called the Golden Hour for trauma,

and in that very short period of time,

if somebody has got critically life-threatening injuries,

you may be able to intervene to stop them dying.

One of the problems we have with mountain casualties is that

with the best will in the world, if you come to serious

grief in the mountains, it's likely to be at least 45 minutes

and possibly an hour before anybody can get to you.

And that means that our mountain casualties completely miss

the Golden Hour,

so that does mean that the most seriously injured casualties

from the mountains may well be dead by the time help arrives,

which means that if they are still alive,

to reach here in the emergency department,

then they should have survivable injuries.

No problem with her being managed on that,

but she needs to have all the resuscitation bundle done.

Thankfully, for the majority, the prognosis is not so bleak.

The commonest single thing we see in mountain casualties

is lower limb injuries and ankle injuries.

A lot of ankle sprains, a lot of ankle fractures,

and of course, that's completely disabling.

You know, you turn your ankle over and you can't walk,

and you're going to have to have assistance to get off.

So something that can be a relatively minor injury

can be a very significant problem.

If you can't evacuate yourself from the mountain,

then you're going to need the assistance

of the RAF or MRT or both.

Today's casualty is a typical case.

A man has tripped while walking down from the summit

and has injured his knee.

Winching out over the side.

Height is good. Speed is good.

Right one only.

Steady.

On the ground.

Winchman making his way down to the party.

Winchman Ed Griffiths knows that this is a serious injury.

He needs to take urgent action.

It was a classic dislocated patella, which is the kneecap.

He was sat there, his leg was flexed and it was quite obvious

that his kneecap was up into his thigh area, if you like.

And that had just been through him just twisting it

and planting it badly on the uneven ground,

so I put some morphine into him, and then straightened his leg, and at

the same time, just gave his kneecap a little bit of a push, as well

and it all popped back into place.

Winch complete.

The medical team at Bangor's Ysbyty Gwynedd

confirm that Ian Hepburn's walking holiday has indeed come to an end.

Oooh!

This is a holiday snap to remember!

First time up Snowdon, first time on a helicopter, first time on crutches.

Big day of firsts!

And first time on film, so...

I thought it was only meant to come in threes!

Ian had to have an operation on his knee two weeks later,

and was out of action for three months after his fall.

But he's since returned to Wales to climb,

and is planning another trip in the near future.

And recuperating in Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl,

walker Alan White won't be scrambling in the Berwyn hills

for a while yet.

I've ruptured the quadricep tendons,

can't put any weight on the leg for 12 weeks,

probably won't be able to drive for 16 weeks.

Alone and in agony on a Welsh hillside,

Alan's signalling paid off.

I just had a big silver survival bag which I was waving about to try

and attract attention.

They came with the big yellow bird.

Seen them practicing and training and hoped I never had to use one.

But they were there, and they did an excellent job.

And Dominic Stratton's coasteering adventure on a stag do weekend

resulted in a fractured spine.

But five weeks after his fall,

he managed to make it to the groom's wedding, on time.

The beauty of the Welsh landscape attracts millions of visitors

to its mountains and coast every year.

And for the few that need help,

the yellow Sea Kings are always on standby.

Next time on Helicopter Rescue.

Four young climbers have been stuck

for six hours in freezing conditions.

We're here now. Let's get them, and let's get out of there.

It's a battle on the battlements.

The Sea King is called to a damsel in distress

on Caernarfon Castle's medieval turrets.

That's something that you don't train day-in, day-out for.

And for one pilot, it's nearly time to say goodbye.

I'm really trying not to think about it in terms of,

"Oh, God, this is the last shift."

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