A young couple in their twenties were rescued in the early hours of yesterday morning, Sunday 12th July, after becoming stranded on a rocky outcrop in a difficult-to-access area of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains. The rescue mission, led by the Special Rescue Group (GER) of the Alicante Provincial Fire Consortium, spanned more than six hours and concluded safely with no injuries reported.
Emergency services were alerted at 23:48 on Saturday, with the operation finally concluding at 06:02 on Sunday near the Camino Cruz de la Muela, located in Orihuela.
The rescue proved particularly challenging due to an initial error in the location provided by the pair, which significantly hampered the intervention. Upon arriving at the scene, specialists from the consortium managed to make visual contact with the couple, though they quickly determined that the route taken to reach them was unsuitable for a safe extraction. Rescuers were forced to descend and identify an alternative path, utilising their expertise and continuous visual contact to eventually reach the stranded individuals.
Once the rescue team accessed the position, they confirmed that the couple was trapped in an area that required technical intervention. Specialists set up a specific rescue facility to safely evacuate the pair. They were successfully lowered down the via ferrata area to the lower part of the Sierra de Orihuela, bringing the operation to a close.
Despite the complexity of the rescue, neither individual sustained any injuries, and medical assistance was not required. Both were able to return home under their own steam once the evacuation was complete. The operation was handled by the Special Rescue Group of the Alicante Provincial Fire Consortium, a unit dedicated to mountain operations and rescues in remote or challenging environments.
