Two injured crew members have been airlifted to hospital from a fishing vessel off the west coast this afternoon.
Both are said to have sustained head injuries while working on board a trawler about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometres) west of Dingle in Kerry.
The alarm was raised by the vessel’s crew at around 11.20am today when they contacted the Irish Coast Guard.
The Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115, was tasked and took off shortly before midday for the one-hour flight to rendezvous with the trawler.
Rescue 115 reached the vessel at around 1.00pm and the helicopter’s paramedic was winched onto the deck to assess the casualties.
Weather conditions on scene were reported to be poor with winds reaching up to Force 6.
Both patients were winched on board the helicopter and flown to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
There is no information available about their condition however it’s believed their injuries are not life-threatening.
The airlift was coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.