Stranded family use camera flash to guide mountain rescuers

A Cambridge University lecturer returned home from Ireland today after he and his family were rescued from mountains in west Cork with the help of a camera flash.

Dr Tim Flack, his partner and his four children aged between nine and seven were stranded on Healy Pass in the Caha Mountains near Castletownbere for several hours on Monday night.

The family got lost while walking along the dangerous pass after darkness fell.

Dr Flack, a lecturer in engineering, realised they would not make it to the relative safety of nearby Hungry Hill without light and called gardai on his mobile phone to raise the alarm.

Some six hours later the family-of-six were safely taken off the mountain by the Kerry Mountain Rescue and Castletownbere cliff Rescue teams.

The family, including children Hanna and Sophie aged 9, Emily aged 8 and William aged 7, had been located at around 9pm after Dr Flack used the flash on his camera as a beacon.

But it took rescue teams over two hours to zig-zag the family down the steep slopes using rope supports to ensure the youngsters did not fall.

Gerry Christie, spokesman for Kerry Mountain Rescue, praised Dr Flack for raising the alarm when he got into difficulties.

“If he had tried to push on through the dangerous ground after darkness fell instead of calling for help that would have been worse,” he said.

Dr Flack had been renting a holiday home in the area. He told rescue teams he had been advised by a local farmer that he could walk from the top of the Healy Pass to Hungry Hill, a difficult walk even in favourable conditions.

“By the time he was halfway along he realised that he wasn’t going to finish it,” Mr Christie said.

“He thought he could take a short cut, but as ever in the mountains if you take the short cut that’s were difficulties present themselves.”

Mr Christie added the children were cold and wet but cheerful after several hours on the dangerous slopes.

The family spent the next two days at their holiday cottage in the Healy Pass before returning to Cambridge today.