The Guardia Civil's mountain rescue unit has been called upon just recently to attend to people who have suffered injuries in the Tramuntana mountains when making descents of ravines.
One of the rescues was on 28 January, when a 47-year-old man fell while performing a descent in the Torrent de Pareis past the S'Entrefoc area. He was struck on the head, and the wound began to bleed profusely. He suffered other blows and landed in a pool of water.
The area was difficult to access because it was a ravine with a waterfall. Mountain rescue officers arrived by helicopter and were able to get partial support from a nearby rock before lowering themselves to where the injured man was.
He was conscious but highly disoriented and dazed and in a very serious condition. He was immobilised and placed on a rescue stretcher before being lifted into the helicopter and taken to Son Espases Hospital.
Last Saturday, there was a call regarding a 30-year-old climber who had an accident in the torrent Coanegra. A fall caused serious cranial trauma and it was necessary to get him out immediately because of the great flow of water in what was a very difficult location. Officers were again taken be helicopter and performed first aid before getting him on the stretcher and up into the helicopter, which had to be manouevred carefully because of a low margin of error in an area with limited space.
There had been another incident in the same area in January, and the Guardia Civil are advising climbers to take particular care at times of extreme weather conditions, especially when they're tackling ravines and torrents. Even those with extensive experience can have accidents, which has been the case with these recent incidents.