A woman has been airlifted to hospital after she suffered a lower leg injury on a hiking trail in Co Limerick this afternoon.
The woman in her 50s is understood to have been hiking at Anglesborough in South Limerick close to the Tipperary border when the incident happened shortly after 2.00pm.
National Ambulance Service paramedics had responded to the scene but on arrival found that the area where the injured woman was located was inaccessible. It’s understood the woman suffered her injury on a steep incline in a wooded area which could not be accessed by road ambulance.
The Irish Coast Guard was contacted and requested to dispatch a helicopter. Watch officers at the Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry alerted the crew of the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter.
Rescue 115 departed Shannon Airport and reached the scene in about 15 minutes. After carrying out an assessment of the area and the difficult terrain, the helicopter’s winchman/paramedic was lowered to the location where they were able to assess and treat the patient.
The woman was then winched on board the helicopter and flown to University Hospital Limerick where she is undergoing further treatment. Her injuries are not believed to be serious. She is understood to have sustained a suspected fractured ankle.
The mission marks a milestone for Bristow Ireland which only took over the operation of the Irish Coast Guard’s search and rescue aviation service at Shannon Airport from CHC Ireland (CHCI) at the weekend.
CHCI continues to operate the service from Dublin, Sligo and Waterford airports while a transition process continues.
While Bristow transition crews have been undertaking extensive training missions since early September, the company’s Shannon base went ‘live’ for search and rescue and other operations at midnight on Saturday.
As part of an that ongoing transition process, staff from the current service provider, CHCI, continue to migrate to the new Bristow Ireland operation. CHCI’s contract expires on June 30th 2025 by which time, Bristow’s transition process should be complete and all four bases taken over in full.
The Irish Coast Guard aviation contract will see Bristow operate a total of six Leonardo AW189 helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft to deliver a suite of Coast Guard aviation services.
