A 35-year-old man has been airlifted to hospital in Cork after he suffered serious spinal injuries while diving from rocks off the south coast this afternoon.
The man was diving from rocks near Nohoval Cove in Co Cork at around 3pm when it is believed his foot caught and he landed on rocks, injuring his back.
The emergency services were alerted and the Irish Coast Guard on Valentia Island co-ordinated a rescue mission.
The Irish Coast Guard Sikorski helicopter, Rescue 115 based at Shannon, took the man to Cork Airport before he was transferred to Cork University Hospital. He suffered serious spinal injuries but is believed they are not life threatening.
The Irish Coast Guard was assisted in the operation by Kinsale RNLI as well as gardaí who also attended at the scene which is approximately midway between Kinsale and Crosshaven.
The rescue comes just two days after two girls, believed to be in their early teens, were rescued after getting into difficulty while swimming in the River Lee near Ballincollig.
The girls were among a large group of teenagers from Ballincollig who had gathered in the Regional Park in Ballincollig on Saturday afternoon.
Several of the teenagers were swimming downstream of the river’s damaged weir when the two girls got into difficulty in strong currents.
Onlookers threw a lifebuoy into the water to help rescue one of the girls as a local teenage boy went into the water to bring the other girl to safety.
It is understood both girls were taken to hospital by relations for observation.
Last Wednesday, the Irish Coast Guard was involved in two rescues in west Cork when four teenage boys and two young women got into difficulty in separate incidents.
