NI: Soldier killed by lightening on mountain
A climber believed killed by lightning on a Co Down mountain top was a sergeant in the Royal Signals, it emerged today.
The soldier, aged 29, from north Humberside, is thought to have been struck as he sought shelter from a storm.
A British army spokesman refused to disclose the dead man’s name for security reasons, but confirmed he had been on a day off from his base at Ballykelly barracks, Co Derry.
A group of walkers discovered the body, partially covered with snow, on Saturday, at the entrance to a stone shelter at the top of Slieve Donard, in the Mourne Mountains.
A post mortem examination revealed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the soldier’s death.
Ed Kilgore, of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, said the climber was well-equipped and had plenty of food with him.
He estimated the body could have been lying on the peak for up to two days.
A police search and rescue team and doctor were airlifted to the scene, in a Dublin-based coastguard helicopter, after the alarm was raised.
Around 850 metres high, Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland.
