A Maltese couple had to be rescued from south Wales’s highest peak on Friday in an operation involving an RAF helicopter and sniffer dogs.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have a map or compass with them
Oswald and Carmen Tanti Rigos, whose names were confirmed by Foreign Ministry sources, raised the alarm themselves after becoming lost in low cloud.
The Foreign Ministry said the couple returned to Malta safely yesterday. It was unsure if they had flown home earlier than planned due to their ordeal.
Dave Coombs, deputy team leader of Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, told The Sunday Times that the couple, aged 30 and 31, were on holiday in Wales. They were on the way down from the summit of Pen-y-Fan (886 metres) in the Brecon Beacons National Park when they got lost and telephoned the emergency services.
“Unfortunately they didn’t have a map or compass with them so were unable to navigate their way off the mountain,” Mr Coombs said.
The Brecon Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) received a call from the police asking for their assistance in locating the couple at 2.56pm on Friday.
A total of 35 personnel from Brecon MRT, Central MRT and the Search and Rescue Dogs Association South Wales were involved in the search.
An RAF Sea King helicopter from RAF Chivenor in Devon was also scrambled but it was unable to find the couple due to low cloud.
“The weather conditions on the mountains were quite difficult with low temperatures,” Mr Coombs said.
Mr Tanti Rigos, a teacher, and Ms Tanti Rigos, an inclusion coordinator, were eventually found cold and wet but uninjured at 6.35pm by two search and rescue dogs.
They were warmed up and escorted from the mountain to the Brecon MRT control vehicle, where they were checked over by team doctors.
The Foreign Ministry said it immediately made contact with the Welsh authorities when it learned of the couple’s rescue through the local media.
A spokesman for the ministry said it received assurances that the couple were safe and well and were returning home yesterday.
Brecon Beacons National Park publishes its own ‘Be Safe’ guide for all walkers, in which it warns them to take a map and compass and warm clothing at all times of year.
“Conditions can change rapidly and the general forecast is not always reliable – plan for the worst,” it warns.
The Brecon MRT is a voluntary organisation that responded to 93 calls last year.