An elderly woman is recovering in hospital after she was injured in a hiking accident in Co Clare this afternoon.
The incident happened at around 3.00pm when the woman was reported to have sustained a leg injury while walking on the Cappaghabaun mountains north of Scarriff.
National Ambulance Service paramedics were sent to the scene however they found that the area was not accessible by ambulance.
Coast Guard volunteers from Killaloe were alerted and requested to respond to the scene while the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115, was also tasked to the incident.
Members of the public who were who were in the area at the time went to the injured pensioner’s aid and managed to carry her to a 4×4 vehicle and transport her to the nearest house.
Ambulance paramedics travelled to the house where they met and assessed the injured woman. It’s understood she suffered an ankle injury and was taken to University Hospital Limerick by ambulance.
The Coast Guard teams and rescue helicopter were stood down and returned to their bases once paramedics confirmed they were happy to transport the patient by road.
It was the first call-out of the New Year for Killaloe Coast Guard unit who responded to a total of 50 calls in 2016.