Police overhaul 999 mountain call rules after deaths of Norfolk climbers in Wales

North Wales Police has revised its protocol for handling dropped emergency calls from mountain areas following the deaths of two young climbers whose 999 call was disconnected.

Jayden Long, 19, and Eddie Hill, 20, had travelled from Norwich, Norfolk, to scale Snowdon, also known as Yr Wyddfa, in February. They parked at Pen y Pass car park on 18 February to begin their ascent, though their precise route remains unknown, assistant coroner Sarah Riley, for the area of North West Wales, said.

A message sent by Mr Hill to his girlfriend indicated that deteriorating weather had forced the pair to turn back. At 4.27pm, Mr Long contacted North Wales Police, but the call was discontinued. Audio playback captured him saying "hello" and "can you hear me?".

Officers attempted to ring him back without success, but mountain rescue services were not alerted by the force until 7.38pm – more than three hours later.

The climbers were discovered dead at 11.04am the following day after falling down steep terrain covered in ice and snow. While an inquest determined their deaths were accidental, Ms Riley noted that the force lacked a standardized procedure to guide call handlers dealing with emergency communications from remote or mountainous regions. She also highlighted inadequate systems for sharing lessons learned, warning there was a "significant risk of future deaths" unless action was taken.

In a response letter, North Wales Police confirmed its updated guidance instructs staff receiving silent or disconnected 999 calls from confirmed remote or mountainous locations to consider alerting mountain rescue.

The force stated the policy includes: "In the event of a silent or discontinued 999 call being received from a remote/mountainous location, if the location is confirmed via EISEC (BT-confirmed auto data) or other means of confirmation of location (eg GoodSAM Location Services) then consideration should be given to making the mountain rescue team aware for consideration of deployment if appropriate and relevant.

"Given the geography of North Wales, this action is proportionate as silent 999 calls from these locations, where the locations are confirmed, would be out of the ordinary."

Jurgen Dissmann, chairman of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, said in a statement after the deaths: "I would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the two men who have tragically lost their lives.

"The team were tasked by North Wales Police and launched an extensive multi-agency operation in full winter conditions.

"Volunteers searched across challenging mountain terrain in snow and ice, working long hours through the night in difficult weather in an effort to locate the pair as quickly as possible.

"Despite the determined and sustained commitment of everyone involved, we are deeply saddened that, despite all efforts, the outcome was not what we had hoped for."