Three emergency airlifts from Achill in one day

Neill O’Neill

BANK Holiday Sunday was a busy day for the emergency services in Achill, with the local Coast Guard unit responding to two callouts, while a total of three emergency air evacuations were undertaken by rescue helicopters.
On Sunday afternoon a rider was airlifted after being thrown from a horse at the Sandy Banks in Keel, an area which is particularly busy at this time of year. Achill Coast Guard have outlined that due to the suspected serious nature of the injuries, the Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter, R118, was dispatched from its base in Sligo. The local crew assisted the National Ambulance Service personnel in preparing the casualty for air removal to hospital and secured a landing site for the helicopter. Achill Coast Guard have thanked members of the public for their assistance ahead of the arrival of the emergency services, and for respecting their cordon around the landing site. The have also once again stressed the importance of keeping the yellow box road markings around their station free from parked vehicles, saying they would not have been able to mobilise on Sunday had they been obstructed by parked vehicles.  
The second Coast Guard callout was to assist with a suspected stroke. The Achill unit again prepared the casualty for evacuation from the GAA pitch at Achill Sound, which was undertaken by the MEDEVAC 112 helicopter, operated by the Irish Defence forces in conjunction with the HSE. The Achill Coast Guard have also expressed their gratitude to Achill GAA Club for the use of their facilities as a landing site for emergency medical evacuations. The pitch was used for such a purpose twice on Sunday. Earlier in the day the MEDEVAC crew were called in to airlift a person suffering with chest pains from the GAA pitch.