Volunteer team spends night on mountain in rescue attempt

VOLUNTEER vertical rescue specialist Brendan Collins bares no ill-will against the men who caused him to spend Saturday night in miserable weather

VOLUNTEER vertical rescue specialist Brendan Collins bares no ill-will against the men who caused him and his colleagues to spend Saturday night in miserable weather.

Mr Collins, who is secretary of the Glasshouse Mountains State Emergency Service Unit, watched from the base of Mt Beerwah as two of his fellow volunteers tried to reach climbers on Saturday night.

He initially climbed with them after getting a call for help about 6.30pm.

But he made his way down to try to co-ordinate the search as a spotter from the base.

"We were trying to direct our guys," Mr Collins said.

RELATED: WATCH: Climbers rescued after night on Mt Beerwah

Fog reduced visibility to between five and 10 metres in between dumps of pouring rain.

Moss growing on less-travelled parts of the mountain took on ice-like properties in the wet.

"It was about the worst conditions you could possibly get," Mr Collins said.

But the volunteers persevered, referencing a strong phone light held by the trapped men to attempt to guide their searchers nearer.

It became apparent the searchers would not be able to find them without the help of daylight.

It also became clear it was too dangerous for the searchers to come down, so they perched up until a break in the weather about 4am on Sunday.

It wasn't until about 3pm that the stranded men were winched into the RACQ CareFlight helicopter.

Rescuers free two men trapped on Mount Beerwah

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Mr Collins said despite the risks, he was happy to be a part of the rescue team.

He said it came down to helping people in need.

"We really just have to take the hindsight out of it," he said.

But he did urge climbers to read the large warning signs before heading up.

State Emergency Service Sunshine Coast local controller Janet Scott said a group of climbers, not affiliated with the service, had been ready to attempt a rescue on Sunday afternoon.

"If the helicopter couldn't have got in it would have been up to them to get these two guys down," she said.

She said it was a sad fact that the Glasshouse Mountains unit, known for its vertical rescue expertise, had been declining in numbers.

Mrs Scott urged anyone interested in volunteering to give her a call on 0418 708 885.