A young man has been airlifted to hospital after he was injured in a fall at the Cliffs of Moher in North Clare this morning.
A major search and rescue operation was mounted shortly after 9.30am following reports that a man had fallen at the base of Aill Na Searrach at the northern end of the Cliffs of Moher range.
The man had made his way down a goat trail at Aill Na Searrach when the accident happened. The track, often used by surfers, requires local knowledge and extreme caution if anyone is to attempt it.
The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was alerted and requested to mobilise to the scene. The National Ambulance Service dispatched an ambulance response vehicle to the incident while the Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter was tasked. Gardaà also attended the incident.
A comprehensive cliff top search was carried out at the scene while the helicopter undertook an aerial search until the man was located.
A Coast Guard shore team, specially trained to negotiate the trail, was prepared to make their way down to reach the man. However, the crew of Rescue 115 managed to manoeuvre their helicopter close enough to the scene to deploy a winchman/paramedic.
The casualty was successfully winched on board the helicopter and airlifted to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. His injuries are not believed to be serious.
The operation was coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Co Kerry.
In June 2017, the crew of Rescue 115 airlifted two men from the base of the same location. Three men made their way down the treacherous trail where, close to the base, two fell from a height onto rocks below.
The men, a coach and player from a US college football team, were seriously injured. The third man, also a student, was uninjured.
Doolin Coast Guard volunteers located the casualties while Rescue 115 airlifted both seriously injured me from the scene to hospitals in Galway and Limerick.
Meanwhile, just as crews were being stood down from this morning’s tasking, they were requested to respond to another emergency at Lahinch Beach. National Ambulance Service paramedics and Coast Guard volunteers made their way to the scene where a child was reported to have suffered a medical episode. The child was taken into care by the HSE and transported to hospital for further treatment.
