DUBLIN, Ireland, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A mountain rescue team on skis rescued four people stranded when their vehicles got stuck in heavy snow in the Wicklow Mountains in southeast Ireland.
Wicklow Mountain Rescue attempted to reach the area by vehicle several times Wednesday but was able to get no closer than 3 miles away, The Irish Independent reported. Finally, two members of the group headed into Sally Gap on skis carrying thermal blankets and food.
"We're claiming it to be Ireland's first ski rescue, we hope it is," Anne Fitzgerald of Wicklow Mountain Rescue said.
The men were airlifted out. They were lucky in one respect -- they were able to get a cell phone signal to summon help.
Two Dutch tourists also got stuck in the mountains, along with eight police officers who tried to rescue them, The Irish Times reported. Wicklow Mountain Rescue was able to reach them by road, with help from a local government employee equipped with a tractor, retrieving the tourists, the police officers and all their vehicles.
Ireland, which normally has mild winters, has been enduring the same heavy snow that has blanketed Britain this week.
