By Donal Hickey

A WARNING sign that could save lives has mysteriously disappeared from a mountain in Co Kerry, popular with hill walkers and climbers. The sign, which urged people to stay away from a false descent route, had been placed about 50 metres off the summit of Carrantuohill five years ago by the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT).

The mountain is a regular scene of rescue operations and many people have died and been injured there in falls over the years. KMRT spokesman Gerry Christie yesterday said the sign had been taken down and the elements were not involved.

"It was removed by whom, I can’t say. Was it a high-level vandal or a misguided eco activist?" he remarked. The sign was put there after it became apparent that a lot of people were walking down a path which they believed to be a safe way of getting down from the summit.

"However, it is very dangerous and people who continue down the path, especially in cloudy conditions, can get trapped on a ledge. Several people have had to be rescued in that area," he added.

Mr Christie said the sign was on the steep east face of the mountain on which a fall was "not survivable". Certain death awaited anyone falling down that face, he pointed out. "This was a life-saving sign which wasn’t put there lightly," he said.

The sign featured a skull and crossbones and the warning "turn back now. No descent route".

People climb Carrantuohill, Ireland’s highest mountain, all year round and, with the fine weather and the holiday season under way, a lot of people are on the mountain these days, according to the KMRT.

A new warning sign is to be erected over the coming days.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, June 25, 2010