AN RAF Valley helicopter crew rescued a group of Orthodox Jews after they became stranded in bogs on a Gwynedd hillside .
The group of eleven, which included children and a pregnant woman and dressed in formal clothes after running into difficulties on a 1,000ft hill in the Dyfi Valley.
Flight Lieutenant Giles Ratcliffe said that the group were not properly equipped for mountain walking.
He added: “They were dressed as you would see an Orthodox Jew on the street, including hats for the elders and caps for the boys, and they were carrying a suitcase.”
AN RAF Valley search and rescue helicopter was scrambled to the hill near Bwlch Corrog, five miles east of Aberdyfi, at 10.30pm on Sunday.
Flt Lt Ratcliffe of 22 Squadron added that the Aeronautical Rescue Coordinators at RAF Kinloss in Scotland were able to give the crew a grid reference based on formation given to them by the group.
The crew used called the group using the newly-installed Airwave radio system, which allows them to use mobile phone networks.
Flt Lt Ratcliffe added: “We asked them to flash the phone’s backlight, which we could detect from about a mile away using night vision goggles,” he said.
It took ten minutes to bring the group onto the helicopter due to the boggy ground.
The helicopter flew to Ysbyty Bronglais landing site where the Brecon Mountain rescue team took over.
None of the group was injured during the incident.