Soldiers in Ben Nevis fall

TWO soldiers who fell 300ft down Ben Nevis, below, were lucky to have escaped with their lives, a mountain team rescue leader said.

The two men, from an unidentified English army unit, were rescued from Britain's highest mountain on Tuesday after being injured on Tower Ridge.

John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber Mountain Rescue, said the pair had fallen about 300ft from Douglas Boulder at the start of the climb up the ridge, which is about 1,000ft below the summit.

"They were very lucky. They had just started the climb and were on a steep part of it - they must have fallen down 250-300ft," he said. "They tumbled and somersaulted - once the momentum starts it's hard to stop. But they stopped about 200ft from the bottom of that face, otherwise it would have been a lot worse.

"They stopped falling in the right place, if there is one on Ben Nevis. They are lucky to be alive."

He said one man had serious head injuries and the other a broken leg.