Elite mountain cops were forced to call in reinforcements after becoming stranded on a Skye mountain.
Four off-duty members of the police’s mountain rescue team scaled Sgurr Dubh Mor, part of the Cuillin mountain range, on Skye.
However, they were left stranded on the rock face as gale force winds and heavy rain battered the peak.
Rescue teams then battled for more than 12 hours to rescue the officers, amidst the terrible weather conditions.
The major rescue operation was sparked by an emergency call on Saturday from four climbers who had become cragfast on the rockface.
Five members of Skye Mountain Rescue Team navigated across swollen streams and slippery rocks before eventually reaching the summit at around 2am.
The cold, wet climbers were found a short distance away.
After being assessed by mountaineers at the scene, the group began retracing their steps and descending the 3,000ft peak.
It is understood the officers were off-duty and not on an official training exercise at the time of the incident.
Mountaineers navigate swollen streams and slippery rocks to reach casualties
Members of the Skye rescue team have taken to social media to share a series of images from the rescue operation and share an insight into the challenging rescue.
They wrote: “Five team members had a very long, wet night on the hill on Saturday night after being called out to help a party of four stuck on Sgurr Dubh Mor. The group had climbed up the Dubh’s slabs from Coruisk but had been unable to find their way back down.
“Hope of helicopter assistance was dashed when Rescue 948 from Stornoway turned back due to worsening weather.
“Setting off just before 10:30pm, the team eventually reached the summit at 2am, and found the cold, wet climbers after a short descent to the North.”
They added: “The rain was now relentless leading to difficult route finding, swollen streams and slippery rocks, but by carefully retracing their steps, all were back at Glen Brittle by 7am.
“Certainly an experience for all involved there were some very tired (and grateful) people back at the base this morning.”
Horrendous Skye weather made helicopter rescue impossible
Rescue helicopter 948 from Stornoway was dispatched to the scene to airlift mountain rescuers to the summit as daylight faded.
As weather conditions deteriorated, the chopper was forced to terminate its flight path and return to base.
Meanwhile, mountaineers and a local specialist search team scaled the mountain on foot.
The rescue operation lasted for around 12 hours.
The group were safely taken off the mountain at around 7am on Sunday morning.
A spokesman for HM Coastguard said: “The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway was sent to a report of four walkers stuck on the Cuillin, Isle of Skye.
“The alarm was raised at about 8.05pm. The helicopter was unable to assist due to weather conditions.”
In a statement, a police spokesman added: “We were made aware of a group of walkers in difficulty in the area of Sgùrr Dubh Mòr in the Cuillin on Skye shortly after 6.45pm on Saturday.
“The group were assisted off the mountain by the Skye Mountain Rescue Team. No one was injured.”
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