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Ben Nevis: Search to resume for missing couple Rachel Slater and Tim Newton
Ben Nevis: Helicopter search for missing couple Rachel Slater and Tim Newton
(about 7 hours later)
Rescuers plan to resume the search for a couple who have gone missing on Ben Nevis.
A helicopter has taken part in the search for the missing climbers on Ben Nevis, Police Scotland has said.
Rachel Slater, 24, and Tim Newton, 27 - who are both experienced climbers - were reported missing in the Scottish Highlands over the weekend.
The HM Coastguard Rescue helicopter 951 set off after midday on Wednesday following a "break in the weather," a spokesperson from Police Scotland said.
Attempts to find them were suspended on Tuesday due to treacherous weather conditions.
It came after the search for 24-year-old Rachel Slater and 27-year-old Tim Newton was suspended due to bad weather, including heavy snow, fog and winds, on Wednesday morning.
The pair, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, went climbing over the weekend and were reported overdue on Monday.
But the spokesperson told The Independent that the ground conditions were still “too dangerous” and “unsettled” to send teams out on foot.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team planned to resume the search at first light on Wednesday but heavy snow, fog and blustery winds have forced them to review their plans.
Ms Slater and Mr Newton, both from Bradford in West Yorkshire, went climbing on Britain’s highest mountain on the weekend but were reported missing on Monday. It is believed they had been camping behind the Charles Inglis Clark memorial hut on the north side of the mountain.
Two members of the rescue team were caught up in an avalanche during the search of Tuesday but survived unscathed.
John Stevenson from the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (MRT), told BBC Radio Scotland about the decision to suspend the search on Wednesday morning. “We’re expecting more bad weather so we’ve put everything on hold and are reviewing it.”
Leader John Stevenson told BBC Radio Scotland: "We're expecting more bad weather so we've put everything on hold and are reviewing it.
“It’s always a worry when you’re putting people in to these areas. It’s quite scary and very hard work in these conditions.”
"There were high winds yesterday which have died down a bit but it's still very blustery on the hill and the areas we want to look at have had a lot of fresh snowfall blown in so they are very unstable and we wouldn't like to put people in there until there is a bit of settlement.
Mr Stevenson said the snow determined whether people could be sent out to search.
"It's always a worry when you're putting people in to these areas. It's quite scary and very hard work in these conditions."
“As time goes on it’s very difficult, the weather conditions have been really bad and no-one has heard from them or seen them is a worry," he said. “You always have hope but as time goes on that diminishes quite rapidly."
It is believed the couple had been camping behind the Charles Inglis Clark memorial hut on the north side of the mountain.
On Tuesday, 36 people were sent out to look for the couple around the Coire na Ciste and South Trident Buttress area - the location where Ms Slater and Mr Newton were last believed to have been seen on Sunday. But the effort was called off after five hours due to poor weather conditions including 80 to 90mph winds and temperatures which felt like -20°C, Lochaber MRT said on their Facebook page.
Seasoned climber Ms Slater is a graduate of Manchester University and is employed as an environmental consultant near Bradford.
The same day, two members of the rescue team were caught up in an avalanche but survived.
Mr Newton, originally from Leicester, also lives in Bradford and studied physics at the Universities of Manchester and Leeds, according to his Facebook profile.
Additional reporting by PA
Mr Stevenson said it is hoped that teams can take to the mountain later.
He said: "We'll just have to wait and see - it's the snow conditions that will determine what we can do and where we can go.
"We'll keep reviewing it and as and when we'll try and send people out."
He added: "As time goes on it's very difficult, the weather conditions have been really bad and no-one has heard from them or seen them is a worry. You always have hope but as time goes on that diminishes quite rapidly."
Friends and fellow climbers have been posting messages on social media praising the search teams and voicing hope that the couple will be found safe.
One wrote on the UKClimbing forum: "Great, enthusiastic young climbers. Such good role models for the sport.
"I've seen them out and about in the past and follow their logbooks cos they climb routes I'd like to. I hope they are found OK. I'm crossing everything and thinking of them and the search teams."
Anyone who was climbing or walking in the Ben Nevis area over the weekend and saw the couple is being urged to contact police on 101.
