A man has been airlifted to hospital after he was reported to have fallen overboard from a vessel in Galway Bay this afternoon.
It’s understood the man was seen falling into the sea from a boat off Nimmo’s Pier. The incident occurred at around 1.30pm.
Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry received a Mayday radio distress call alerting them to the incident. Staff then issued a Mayday Relay radio message requesting any vessels in the area to assist if they could.
The Galway RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was tasked along with the Costelloe Bay unit of the Irish Coast Guard Unit. The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was engaged in another emergency on the Aran Islands so Rescue 118 was dispatched from its base in Sligo.
Once Rescue 115 had completed its patient transfer operation from Inis Mór to University Hospital Galway, that helicopter was also placed on standby in the area if needed.
Shortly after arriving on scene the crew of Rescue 118 located and recovered the casualty from the water. The helicopter’s winchman and winch operator, both qualified paramedics, provided immediate medical assistance while the patient was airlifted to hospital.
The patient was flown to University Hospital Galway and handed into the care of the HSE’s National Ambulance Service.
The man is understood to be in a critical condition in hospital.
