A man risked his life to reach his wife who died after falling down a ravine on Connaught’s highest mountain.
The 50-year-old Dublin woman slipped and fell down a gully on Mweelrea mountain in Co Mayo while climbing with her husband.
Her husband, also in his early 50s, scaled down to his stricken wife and covered her with a bright orange Bivvy Bag before he went for help.
Rescuers said he had to climb back up the mountain until he could get a mobile telephone signal to call the emergencies at around 5pm.
She lay for more than 12 hours before her remains were spotted.
Dick Harnedy, of Mayo Mountain Rescue Team, said they hoped beyond hope the woman would be alive when they reached her.
"It was really dense fog up there and it didn't lift until 10pm," said Mr Harnedy.
"It is a dangerous mountain and it is very easy to make a mistake on it or to take a wrong direction in the fog.
"It's like a blanket. You can't see 20 foot ahead of you."
Mweelrea Mountain is 814 metres high and is guarded on all sides by craggy slopes.
It is understood the couple were making their way back down the mountain when the accident happened.
Mr Harnedy said the couple were experienced hill walkers and were well equipped for the walk on the dangerous mountain range.
But when the team arrived the man could only tell them his injured wife was near a river as he had moved so far from where she landed.
While volunteers from Mayo and Galway Rescue Teams continued to search a number of locations close to water throughout the night the concerned husband was brought to safety.
The Coastguard helicopter rejoined the search at first light shortly after 5am and soon spotted the bright orange bag.
"We didn't know if she was dead or not at this stage," continued Mr Harnedy.
"We lowered a man down and we were hoping against hope she would be alive, but it was a really cold night up there.
"It's a beautiful mountain but it's difficult so we knew when we got the call it was going to be difficult."
The woman's body has been taken to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar for a post mortem exam to determine the exact cause of her death.
PA