24 children missing in the Brecon Beacons

Timberrrrrrrr

Hopefully they will be found soon, anyone who has ever been here will know it's a harsh terrain and the weather can change by the minute.

http://www.bbc.com/news/wales

Mountain rescue teams have launched a search for 24 children lost in the Brecon Beacons.
The alarm was raised at about 13:00 BST and three mountain rescue teams and police are taking part in the search around Tafarn Y Garreg, near Abercraf.
Mark Moran from Central Beacons Mountain Rescue said the team believes it knows where the children are, but they are lost in the clouds.
Two are thought to be suffering the effects of hypothermia.
Mr Moran said the rescue team is in intermittent phone contact with the four groups of six children, who do not have an adult with them.

HensVassal

Cue a chorus of victim blamers.

"What are children doing without an adult?"

"Which adult should have been with them?"

"Social Services should take all 24 children away from their parents and place them in state care."

Timberrrrrrrr

HensVassal wrote: »

Cue a chorus of victim blamers.

"What are children doing without an adult?"

"Which adult should have been with them?"

"Social Services should take all 24 children away from their parents and place them in state care."

Well you do have to wonder where the adult supervision is.

Gatling

Wrong place for unaccompanied kids to get into trouble in .

Hopefully they all come back

Gatling

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Well you do have to wonder where the adult supervision is.

Sure they will be grand some people will post anything for a bit of attention

osarusan

The children, from England, are in their mid teens

That's better than them being younger kids at least. They'll hopefully panic less and have a bit more sense.

silverharp

there is a military base near by , so hopefully they should be able to get a lot of boots on the ground quickly.

Zillah

HensVassal wrote: »

Cue a chorus of victim blamers.

"What are children doing without an adult?"

"Which adult should have been with them?"

"Social Services should take all 24 children away from their parents and place them in state care."

But...does you making a preemptive sarcastic comment really mean anything? Cos...maybe I'm walking into an ambush here, but maybe children shouldn't be climbing mountains without adults?

Sapphire

Sounds odd for children to organise themselves into 4 symmetrical groups.

If they are old enough for phones that places them anywhere between 12 and 17 I suppose.

Hope they are found soon.

maudgonner

Sapphire wrote: »

Sounds odd for children to organise themselves into 4 symmetrical groups.

If they are old enough for phones that places them anywhere between 12 and 17 I suppose.

Hope they are found soon.

They were doing their Duke of Edinburgh awards (like the Gaisce awards here). They weren't just out for a spontaneous wander in the hills. I would imagine that there was some degree of adult support provided, even if there weren't adults accompanying them.

And anyone can get caught out in the mountains when bad weather comes in unexpectedly. These kids are probably better prepared and will cope better than many adults in the same situation.

Having witnessed hundreds of utter idiots who climbed Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday last year in T-shirts and sandals, when mountain rescue had cancelled the event due to bad weather, I can assure you that being an adult does not ensure you have common sense.

Hopefully they'll be rescued soon and make it down ok.

SEPT 23 1989

good time of the year for it to happen

seamus

They're in their mid-teens, they don't need adult supervision to go on hikes. They're probably scouts or venturers.

Calling them children is needlessly hysterising the situation.

They have phones with them and clearly have the good sense to use them. They're most likely well packed and dressed, just caught out by adverse weather.

This isn't 24 toddlers wandering unaccompanied in their shorts and t-shirts.

Sapphire

maudgonner wrote: »

They were doing their Duke of Edinburgh awards (like the Gaisce awards here). They weren't just out for a spontaneous wander in the hills. I would imagine that there was some degree of adult support provided, even if there weren't adults accompanying them.

And anyone can get caught out in the mountains when bad weather comes in unexpectedly. These kids are probably better prepared and will cope better than many adults in the same situation.

Having witnessed hundreds of utter idiots who climbed Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday last year in T-shirts and sandals, when mountain rescue had cancelled the event due to bad weather, I can assure you that being an adult does not ensure you have common sense.

Hopefully they'll be rescued soon and make it down ok.

Yes, I witnessed that too, have done for many years. I'm well aware of idiots on our mountains and waterways who ignore expert advice and then have mountain rescue or the coast guard out trying to find them before they get their Darwin award. One of the articles linked didnt specify that this was any formally arranged hike, nor did it say what age they were. Like Seamus says, it's not like a class of pre-schoolers took a long toddle alone. They are hyping up the article to drum up outrage over the terrible parenting I'd say.

Timberrrrrrrr

Sky reporting they have been found

failinis

They are found apparently

Dyfed-Powys Police said the coastguard rescue helicopter had located a number of the children.
The helicopter has landed on the hillside and the crew are with the children, but their condition is not yet known.
The alarm was raised at about 13:00 BST after the groups went missing around Llyn y Fan Fach, near Abercraf.
The children, from England, are in their mid teens and were on the beacons as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Mark Moran from Central Beacons Mountain Rescue said his team had been in intermittent phone contact with the four groups of six children before the first group were found.
They were not accompanied by an adult and although rescuers knew the area the children were in, they were lost in the clouds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-36664896

Junkyard Tom

Oh Mummy it was quite a kerfuffle. We had to kill Fatty and eat him the poor sod. I don't suppose we could have some of Cook's scrumptious lemonade to wash him down? We're parched!

HensVassal

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Well you do have to wonder where the adult supervision is.

I doubt they are toddlers. Probably 12, 13, 14. Did you ever go off with your friends for the day like to Howth or Bray or up Sugarloaf (if you grew up in the Dublin area) ?
I'd imagine Welsh kids do the exact same thing. Take the bus out to the Beacons and then dare each other to do all kinds of crap like jump over streams, snog some girl in the group, try to climb to the top, yada, yada.

The Beacons aren't that high....only about 800m. The Wicklow Mountains are higher. But all these places are easy to get lost in if you have never done a basic orienteering course in the Scouts. Prone to changes in the weather too but one wouldn't expect inclement storms in June. Fog and cloud though..I gues that's a different story. Rain as well. If they headed out on a fine day without raingear and then got caught in a downpour then yeah....bad day. There's nowhere to shelter from rain so you would easily get hypothermia if soaked and no sunshine.

HensVassal

Zillah wrote: »

But...does you making a preemptive sarcastic comment really mean anything? Cos...maybe I'm walking into an ambush here, but maybe children shouldn't be climbing mountains without adults?

Thanks for proving me right.

HensVassal

Sapphire wrote: »

Sounds odd for children to organise themselves into 4 symmetrical groups.

If they are old enough for phones that places them anywhere between 12 and 17 I suppose.

Hope they are found soon.

Could have been some kind of team game or something like one group tracks another who try to escape, etc. Summer holidays and all that.

Timberrrrrrrr

BBC Wales reporting one group still missing

Atlantic Dawn

Smart phones
GPS
What are your coordinates?
Go find them at coordinates?

Whoy are they still missing?

Timberrrrrrrr

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Smart phones
GPS
What are your coordinates?
Go search for them at coordinates?

Whoy are they still missing?

If you can get a signal

HensVassal

Zillah wrote: »

But...does you making a preemptive sarcastic comment really mean anything? Cos...maybe I'm walking into an ambush here, but maybe children shouldn't be climbing mountains without adults?

Doesn't faze little Afghan goat herd boys and the Hindu Kush makes the Brecon Beacons look like the Furry Glen in the Phoenix Park. A 14 year old boy scout with rain gear, tent, first aid kit, rat-pack and compass doesn't need an adult to explore anywhere in England in June during the daytime.

Sapphire

HensVassal wrote: »

Could have been some kind of team game or something like one group tracks another who try to escape, etc. Summer holidays and all that.

Battle Royale?

Atlantic Dawn

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

If you can get a signal

No signal needed for GPS. They had intermittent phone coverage with rescuers so they could have either said it over the phone or text their position as text coverage would be more stable.

All found now safe and well according to Sky News, case closed.

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

No signal needed for GPS. They had intermittent phone coverage with rescuers so they could have either said it over the phone or text their position as text coverage would be more stable.

All found now safe and well according to Sky News, case closed.

~Phones should never be used as a locator beacon. Their GPS can be very limited in the scenario described here, thick cloud/fog on a hill.

A €200 Personal locator beacon with radio comunication is very easy to get and much more reliable than phones. Also have to consider battery life and durability of the device, again trumps phones anyday

HensVassal

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

If you can get a signal

GPS relies on satellite not phone signal. Of course useless having your coordinates if you can't relay them to a rescue party.

maudgonner

HensVassal wrote: »

Doesn't faze little Afghan goat herd boys and the Hindu Kush makes the Brecon Beacons look like the Furry Glen in the Phoenix Park. A 14 year old boy scout with rain gear, tent, first aid kit, rat-pack and compass doesn't need an adult to explore anywhere in England in June during the daytime.

In fact a 14 year old boy scout would probably be able to locate the Brecon Beacons correctly...in Wales, not England :pac:

biko

I don't think they will get their Duke of Edinburgh expedition award now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4NQfulxwcg

Sterling Archer

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

BBC Wales reporting one group still missing

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-36664896

All safe now

lertsnim

Zillah wrote: »

But...does you making a preemptive sarcastic comment really mean anything? Cos...maybe I'm walking into an ambush here, but maybe children shouldn't be climbing mountains without adults?

There's nearly always a post like it warning us of other annoying posts. The irony being the "cue a load of posts like.."post is the more annoying one.

muddypaws

My older brother did a similar scheme in the Lake District in England when he was a teenager, led a group, but as they left the camp they turned left, they were supposed to turn right. Adults watched them go, nobody told them they were going the wrong way. They got lost, and no mobile phones in those days. He had the good sense to find a pub, and they phoned from there, and were well looked after while they waited.

ebbsy

TBH this is a non story. Would need to be over 50 kids to get my attention.

smash

Shane_ef wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-36664896

All safe now

Someone must have heard them blow the conch.

Samaris

A bunch of mid-teenagers aren't "children". They are old enough to know what they're doing and to have a bit of sense. Not blaming them for the weather, mind, anyone can get caught out by weather. Just the reporting is a bit idiotic.

Gatling

Samaris wrote: »

A bunch of mid-teenagers aren't "children". They are old enough to know what they're doing and to have a bit of sense. Not blaming them for the weather, mind, anyone can get caught out by weather. Just the reporting is a bit idiotic.

In a mountain region which has seen multiple deaths including well trained soldiers and special forces .

Having a bit of sense doesn't mean alot in a region which can be treacherous and not just for teenagers

Samaris

Gatling wrote: »

In a mountain region which has seen multiple deaths including well trained soldiers and special forces .

Having a bit of sense doesn't mean alot in a region which can be treacherous and not just not teenagers

No, that's not what I was getting at, although I can see why you could read it that way. I meant that the reporting saying "24 children lost in the Brecon Beacons" gives rise to images of lost children under the age of 11 or 12 who might be seriously at risk through not being quite old enough to know what to do in an alarming situation without adult guidance. A group of mid-teens is, while not adult, old enough to have sense and to be a lot better off than actual "children".

Basically, I was eyeballing the reporting, not the kids themselves, who seem to have dealt with the situation pretty well.

wakka12

As if teenagers getting lost in ****ing britain of all places in mid summer was going to turn out as anything other than a 'found safe and sound' story..the fact that they were teenagers and not children makes it even more of an over exaggerated non story

whisky_galore

Jaysus, people can't find their way out of a brown paper bag these days.
Whatever about the Beacons, not a month goes by without some twat getting stuck up our mountains, sorry, glorified hills having to be rescued.

Sand

Jesus - some teenagers out of their parents sight for 2 hours is a news story now?

Sofa King Great

Never underestimate the mountains. The sun can be splitting the stones on the car park and when you get up higher a mist can reduce visibility to a couple of meters

De Bhál

We've all watched a few episodes of Bear Grylls, we know what to do.
Find a dead camel and sleep in it for the night or something.

dr.bollocko

De Bhál wrote: »

We've all watched a few episodes of Bear Grylls, we know what to do.
Find a dead camel and sleep in it for the night or something.

Just do as Bear did and book into a nice hotel for the evening.

byhookorbycrook

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Just do as Bear did and book into a nice hotel for the evening.

Compare with the Bear?

HensVassal

maudgonner wrote: »

In fact a 14 year old boy scout would probably be able to locate the Brecon Beacons correctly...in Wales, not England :pac:

Hur, Hur,

Yeah, I know they're in Wales.....I mentioned Welsh kids in another post. Though these were English kids.

HensVassal

muddypaws wrote: »

My older brother did a similar scheme in the Lake District in England when he was a teenager, led a group, but as they left the camp they turned left, they were supposed to turn right. Adults watched them go, nobody told them they were going the wrong way. They got lost, and no mobile phones in those days. He had the good sense to find a pub, and they phoned from there, and were well looked after while they waited.

Remember that load of staff who got stuck in a pub/guesthouse up in the Yorkshire Dales during some snowstorm a few years ago. I'd imagine they had a fine time.

HensVassal

whisky_galore wrote: »

Jaysus, people can't find their way out of a brown paper bag these days.
Whatever about the Beacons, not a month goes by without some twat getting stuck up our mountains, sorry, glorified hills having to be rescued.

Carauntoohil and Mt Brandon are taller than any mountain in England and Carauntoohil is only about 50 metres less elevation than Snowdon