Two people were airlifted to hospital while three others were evacuated by lifeboat after a road traffic collision on one of the Aran Islands in the early hours of the morning.
The single-vehicle crash occurred on the largest of the islands, Inis Mór. It’s understood there were five people in the car when it collided with a wall at around 2.00am.
The Inis Mór Fire and Rescue Service responded to the collision and firefighters had to use cutting equipment to safely extricate a female seat passenger. It’s believed the other occupants were able to escape from the vehicle themselves.
The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was requested to respond while the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat was also tasked. It’s understood that a local doctor also attended the scene.
Two casualties were airlifted from the island to University Hospital Galway in what were described as challenging and deteriorating weather conditions. Three others were taken to Rossaveel by the Aran Island lifeboat where they were met by National Ambulance Service paramedics and transported by road to University Hospital Galway.
It’s understood that while one of the occupants sustained serious injuries, they are not to be life-threatening.
Gardaí are investing the circumstances of the incident.
Speaking after the call out, Aran Islands RNLI Coxswain John O’Donnell said: ‘This was a challenging call out for all involved this morning. The darkness of night and the poor weather conditions made the transfer difficult, but we are trained for situations like this and were glad to be able to help and we wish the casualties a speedy recovery.
‘Despite the early hours and the poor weather conditions, our volunteers answered their pagers this morning without hesitation or delay and I would like to commend them for that as well as thank our colleagues in the other emergency services with whom we worked with to bring the three people to safety.’
