A number of sea and cliff rescue operations have taken place over the last two days in Donegal, Clare and Dublin as emergency services warn the public to stay back from cliff edges.
A multi-agency rescue operation was launched shortly after 7am on Saturday at the West End in Bundoran, Co Donegal, after a person fell from a cliff.
The alarm was raised when a member of the public heard cries for help and contacted the emergency services. Malin Head Coast Guard co-ordinated the response, tasking Bundoran RNLI, Donegal Fire Service, the National Ambulance Service and Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118.
Bundoran RNLI volunteers were on scene within minutes. The casualty was located at the base of the cliff having landed on rocks.
The RNLI crew on scene worked to recover the person to the beach. The person was stabilised and airlifted by Rescue 118 before being transferred to Sligo General hospital for further treatment.
A multi-agency search and rescue operation was also launched in Lahinch, Co Clare, on Friday night after a man sustained injuries to his legs after he fell from a cliff.
The man, who is believed to be a tourist, fell from a 7m height cliff at the Miltown Malbay Road car park in the town.
The alarm was raised at 10.15pm. The Shannon-based Rescue 115 attended the scene along with the Doolin Coast Guard unit.
The Coast Guard said it was a difficult rescue as the man had fallen into an inaccessible area. It caused certain difficulties for the fire service in terms of reaching him. A winchman was lowered to the man’s location.
The man, who is in his 20s, is being treated at Galway University Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. He arrived on site shortly after midnight.
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On Friday, a teenager was airlifted to hospital with suspected multiple fractures and lacerations after falling 6m on to rocks in Howth.
The teenager had to be winched by helicopter from the White Water Brook, a remote beach below cliffs on the eastern side of the Howth peninsula.
Another teenager who went to help him suffered from hypothermia. That boy was transferred to the all-weather lifeboat and taken back to Howth lifeboat station, where he was transferred into the care of an ambulance crew.
Both teenagers were taken to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
In a separate incident, the volunteer crew of the Howth RNLI rescued three children who had been cut off by the tide near Lion’s Head – a popular swimming spot on the south side of the Howth peninsula, close to the Bailey lighthouse.
The RNLI has reminded anyone visiting the coast to stay well back from cliff edges, take extreme care near the water, and in an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.
