British woman is gored through the leg by a yak while climbing Mount Everest as she Facetimed her family back in the UK

A British woman has described how she was gored through the leg by a yak while climbing Mount Everest as she Facetimed her family back in the UK. 

Emma Keen, 42, was left bleeding heavily after the yak's horn tore through her leg leaving her with a 3ins cut.

The shop manager was on a 80-mile mission to trek to Everest base camp when she was attacked on the fourth day of the trek at the village of Tengboche.

Ms Keen, from South Wales, was speaking to her brother on Facetime when she saw the yak and turned the camera to show off the mammal, which was just six feet away from her.

She said: 'Without warning I could hear the hoofs pounding towards me, a sharp stabbing pain in the top of my leg. It threw me up in the air around a metre and I landed back down with a thud.

Emma Keen, 42, was bleeding heavily after the yak's horn tore through her leg leaving her with a three-inch cut (Ms Keen is pictured after reaching the Mount Everest Base Camp, posted by a friend with a congratulatory message)

Ms Keen, from South Wales, was speaking to her brother on Facetime when she saw the yak and turned the camera to show off the mammal, which was just six feet away from her (file image of yaks on  Mount Everest)

Ms Keen (pictured) said about the attack: 'Without warning I could hear the hoofs pounding towards me, a sharp stabbing pain in the top of my leg. It threw me up in the air around a metre and I landed back down with a thud'

'Clutching my upper leg I looked and the yak was dragging its hoof in the dusty ground ready to go at me for a second time with his horns down. I screamed and managed to raise my leg and shout.'

A fellow team-member raised the alarm to get medical help for Ms Keen, who was bleeding heavily.

She received emergency first aid from other members of the trek group before being airlifted to hospital.

She needed ten stitches on her leg following the horror injury.

Luckily firefighter Carl Marsh was also on the trek and was able to help Ms Keen thanks to his medical training in the fire service.

He said: 'We had just arrived and we were enjoying our first coffee to warm us up when one of the team came running into the tea house screaming for help saying she's just been attacked by a yak.

'Instincts kicked in and we moved Emma to a safe place away from the danger.

'Emma was screaming in pain and I could quickly see the yak's horn had gone through Emma's leg with a big hole in her hiking leggings and blood running down her leg.

'I called for the first aid kit and applied pressure to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. [We] dressed the wound whilst liaising with the Sherpas to arrange for a medical evacuation as soon as possible.

'We were supported by NHS midwife Katy Williams who did an amazing job reassuring Emma and taking her medical observations at the same time.

Ms Keen, who has already raised more than £2,300 for Kidney Wales, was adamant about completing the trek so she rejoined the group as soon as she recovered and finished the final steps on horseback (file image of Mount Everest seen from the village of Tengboche)

A friend posted pictures of Ms Keen as she reached the Mount Everest Base Camp on social media and wrote: 'Congratulations Emma, you are an inspiration!'

'Emma was in and out of consciousness and realised she needed urgent medical attention.'

Yaks, also known as a grunting ox, are a type of of long-haired cow found throughout the Himalayan region. They rarely attack humans but can be highly protective and charge if they think they are in danger. 

Ms Keen, who has already raised more than £2,300 for Kidney Wales, was adamant about completing the trek so she rejoined the group as soon as she recovered and finished the final steps on horseback.

She said: 'It was important that I continue with the trek as it meant so much to me. Before I headed out for the flight, I could imagine myself at Basecamp - something I had been training for and looking forward to way over a year.'

She said she chose the charity because her mum Helen had polycystic kidneys and needed an urgent kidney transplant. 

Ms Keen added: 'My charity means a lot to me as my brother Peter is currently on the transplant list desperately needing a kidney.

'When the accident happened I just kept thinking of him and how he would feel if I got to Basecamp.

'My team I was with at the time of the accident were outstanding they tended to my wound very fast and were encouraging at what was one of the most scariest times of my life.

'The Sherpas have been outstanding they managed to arrange the helicopter if it wasn't for them then I would have been waiting until the next day as time was getting on. '

A friend posted pictures of Ms Keen as she reached the Mount Everest Base Camp on social media and wrote: 'Congratulations Emma, you are an inspiration!'