Call Out : 8th February Ben Lomond

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Call Out : 8th February Ben LomondThe Team received a call-out from Central Scotland Police just before 7pm on Sunday night to say they had been contacted by a pair of walkers lost on Ben Lomond.
The walkers had left the summit of the Ben at 4.30pm and walked for an hour and a half before realising they were lost in the poor light near a gorge. Their torch batteries were failing in the cold and the loss of a pair of glasses made map reading impossible.
Conditions were very poor and deteriorating, both on the mountain and on the approach roads. The Rowardennan road was closed to anything but 4x4 vehicles after a number of vehicles became stuck.
Four SARDA dog handlers were called on for assistance, one turning back due to the weather. An initial call to the Navy ruled out a helicopter due to bad weather earlier in the evening.A number of groups were deployed on the hill to search for the pair - using parachute flares to attract their attention.
Later in the evening, around 11pm, the weather eased an the Sea King from RNAS Gannet flew in to assist. This coincided with search teams spotting the faint flash of the walkers torch. Rescue 177 flew in and uplifted the pair, who were cold and shivering but otherwise unharmed.The stand down was issued at 1.06am