The pair got stuck on cliffs below Elin’s Tower, near South Stack, on Saturday
The RNLI were called ut to their rescue in darkness
A significant rescue operation was launched after two climbers found themselves stuck on a 200ft cliff in Anglesey. The duo were climbing below Elin’s Tower, near South Stack, near Holyhead, when they got into difficulty on Saturday.
Each climber was stuck at different points on the cliff, prompting a rescue from RNLI and Coastguard teams. The operation utilised new search lights on Holyhead RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat, which helped in locating and safely retrieving the climbers. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here
Holyhead Lifeboat Station stated: “We were called out on Saturday night (October 18) to assist our colleagues at Trearddur Bay RNLI, when two climbers got into trouble on cliffs at Elin’s Tower, near South Stack.
“Our volunteer crew pagers sounded at 6.15pm, asking for the launch of both lifeboats. The climbers had become cragfast – unable to move up or down – just below Elin’s Tower.
“Trearddur Bay had been initially called and were on scene, but with failing light, they asked for assistance from our ALB for illumination purposes, and our D-class to get in closer than they were able in their Atlantic-class lifeboat”, reports North Wales Live.
The lifeboat was launched to help with the rescue
“Our ILB Mary and Archie Hooper launched first, followed by the Trent-class Frederick Storey Cockburn.
“Local volunteer cliff rescue teams had also been called, and were at the scene, and already in contact with the climbers.
“On arrival, our ALB began providing illumination of the cliff edge to assist the cliff teams reaching the two casualties, who were separate, with one near the bottom of the cliffs and the other further up.
“Over two hours we worked together with Trearddur Bay and the cliff teams, and eventually both casualties were safely recovered to the top of the cliffs.
“They were assessed to be safe and well, and we then left the scene, arriving back just after 9pm, where with lifeboats were washed and refuelled for any further calls.
“The call was the first where we used our new ALB search lights, which proved to be a huge bonus on the night, aiding a successful recovery of the two casualties.”
The RNLI is a charity, separate from the coastguard and government, run predominantly by volunteers.
The organisation was set up in 1824 and is funded primarily from donations.
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