Following reports of an individual in his 70s having fallen in a cave near Smugglers Cove, a rescue operation was put into place.
Teams from Coleraine and Ballycastle Coastguard were tasked to the casualty’s location near the Giants Causeway.
On arrival and after initial assessment, the casualty was discover to have sustained a knee injury that was treated at the scene by NIAS paramedics.
Due to the remote location, the decision was made to evacuate the casualty by RNLI lifeboats from Portrush.
The challenging terrain made extraction difficult and complex BUT the casualty was first moved by rope rescue stretcher over very uneven and slippery boulders to the waters edge, then transferred into coastguard water rescue stretcher, then onto the inshore lifeboat.
He was then transferred to the all weather lifeboat for transfer to a waiting ambulance at Portrush Harbour.
A Coastguard Spokesperson said
“It was established that the man had sustained leg and ankle injuries, and needed medical attention. The Coastguard had treated the casualty on scene and then assisted with the transfer to the ILB along with a paramedic. The casualty was then transferred to the waiting ALB at 3.47 pm. The Coastguard had attended to the casualty prior to the evacuation.
“The ALB returned to Portrush Harbour with the casualty and paramedic and handed the gentleman over to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.”
Keith Gilmore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at Portrush said:
“This was another perfect example of good interagency working with colleagues in the Coastguard and the NIAS.It also gave our volunteer crews the opportunity to deploy their Casualty Care skills in which they are trained. We would like to send our best wishes to the gentleman and wish him a speedy recovery.”
