An Irish Coast Guard review of the rescue of two teenagers off the Wexford coast on Sunday has found the helicopter crew had no option but to winch both from the sea simultaneously if both lives were to be saved.
One of the two teenagers - a 15-year-old girl - slipped from the rescue “strop” while the crew were trying to pull both into the aircraft, and fell about 12 metres into the sea.
The girl was already unconscious when she fell and was recovered immediately by the winch crew. She is currently in a critical condition at Waterford University Hospital, while the second teenager who was with her is stable.
The entire rescue operation is understood to have been completed in 17 minutes from time of callout.
The Irish Coast Guard subsequently notified the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the winching incident, and it opted to conduct a preliminary review.
This AAIU review will decide if a full investigation is necessary.
Sea conditions were extremely difficult when the group of four teenagers, who were part of a scout group, were swept off rocks near Hook Head on Sunday afternoon.
Two of the four managed to reach shore, but the girl was unconscious and floating head down in the water when the Waterford-based helicopter arrived on the scene within minutes.
She was being kept afloat by a boy of the same age, who is credited with helping to save her life.
Casualties would normally be taken one by one from the water by a winchman, working with a winch operator in the hovering aircraft.
In this case the winchman could see that the boy was in danger of being swept into rocks.
The winchman had “seconds” to save both, according to sources close to the rescue, and took both teenagers up in an extremely difficult manoeuvre, with the girl unconscious and unable to respond.
The boy was recovered into the aircraft, but at this point the girl slipped and fell.
The winchman retrieved her immediately and she was given medical assistance on board the aircraft. Irish Coast Guard winching crews are trained paramedics.
Scouting Ireland is conducting its own review of the expedition.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Scouting Ireland chief executive John Lawlor said the scout leaders who were on duty during the expedition involving 14 children were “experienced and well-trained”.
They were trusted to make a judgment call as to whether the trip should go ahead, following the weekend’s stormy weather.
As part of the review, Mr Lawlor said Scouting Ireland will assess if there were “things that could have been done to make the trip safer; could they have avoided this or the other”.
He said representatives of the group would speak to other young people who were on the trip and their parents in a bid to ascertain what happened in the lead-up to the incident.
The Irish Coast Guard said it could not comment on the incident.
