7 Jun 2009

Mountain runners rescued

11:49 am on 7 June 2009

RAF rescue teams say all the people who went missing in bad weather during a race in North Wales have been found.

Eight people were airlifted to hospital and another 25 runners were helped to safety.

Two people remained unaccounted for some time but the BBC reports they have now been located.

The 22-mile Welsh 1,000m Peaks Race involved 245 competitors who were due to finish on the summit of Snowdon.

Mountain rescue teams and the RAF were involved in the search in the Carneddau mountains, near Bethesda, from about 1500 BST on Saturday.

The annual race, which was later abandoned, involves teams of runners and mountaineers from clubs and the armed services. A soldier died in a 500ft fall while competing in the race in 2007.

The event started on the Gwynedd coast at Aber at around 0900 BST.

North Wales police spokeswoman said calls started coming in about an hour later due to "atrocious weather conditions".

Those rescued included some army cadets.