The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter has carried out a second evacuation of a casualty from Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo.
For the second time in two days, Rescue 115 was tasked to assist the volunteer Mayo Mountain Rescue team, which was responding to its fourth callout in as many days.
Volunteers had been notified by Gardaà at around 3.30pm that a climber on Croagh Patrick required urgent assistance. The man is understood to have sustained a head injury in a fall while descending the Reek.
It wasn’t immediately known where the casualty was located and attempts to make contact by phone were unsuccessful.
Mayo Mountain Rescue dispatched two first responders to the back of the reek to search the track from that side, while two others were directed to Murrisk to search the pilgrim path. The first responders on the Murrisk side met the man walking down with his daughter.
In the meantime watch officers at the Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre at Malin Head in Donegal were able to trace the initial call and provide location coordinates to the other search teams.
As the Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 118, was unavailable at the time, Rescue 115 was tasked from University Hospital Galway where the crew had just dropped a patient from an earlier tasking.
Following an assessment of the casualty by the Mayo Mountain Rescue nurse and discussions with the crew of Rescue 115, it was decided to walk the man off the mountain with support from mountain rescue personnel.
The casualty was handed into the care of National Ambulance Service paramedics and transported to hospital for treatment.
Yesterday, Rescue 115 responded to another incident on Croagh Patrick where a man had sustained a head injury in a fall.
The casualty was assessed and treated by Rescue 115’s winchman/paramedic and with the assistance of Mayo Mountain Rescue first responders, prepared the casualty to be airlifted to Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar.
Check out this information on safety if visiting Croagh Patrick.
