Fears grow for missing hiker

Fears were growing tonight for the welfare of a Swedish hiker who went missing while climbing mountains in Kerry.

A search party made up of local gardaí, around 20 members of the Kerry Mountain Rescue team and the Coastguard helicopter have called off the hunt for the 22-year-old man who vanished on the McGillycuddy Reeks.

The man set out from Kilgarvan to hike the 25 kilometre route on the range early on Tuesday morning and was expected back late yesterday evening.

Gardaí and the rescue team were alerted last night and the search covering more than 100 kilometres of the Reeks was carried out during today.

The search stopped for the night as teams failed to find any trace of him on the treacherous mountains.

The man planned to use his mobile phone to stay in contact by text messages with his family who were staying nearby, but nothing has been heard since he failed to return.

Rescue teams hope to restart the search at first light tomorrow.