The Cliffs of Moher incident saw a "very technical" rescue operation play out on Sunday
A tourist at the Cliffs of Moher was rescued after she fell onto a narrow ledge while hiking the site on Sunday.
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The Journal reports that the tourist, said to be in her 20s and from South Africa, was visiting the Aill Na Searrach area of the Cliffs of Moher around 4:30 pm on Sunday when she lost her footing, causing her to fall onto a narrow ledge perched about 182 meters above the sea.
The Irish Coast Guard was quickly alerted to the situation after the tourist’s friend raised the alarm.
Watch officers at the service’s marine rescue sub-center on Valentia Island coordinated the successful rescue operation which saw members from Doolin's Coast Guard unit, the National Ambulance Service, and the Shannon-based helicopter rescue Rescue 115 respond to the incident.
Rescuers, who abseiled down the cliffs to reach the injured woman, provided first aid before placing the injured woman on a stretcher to be removed from the ledge.
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A spokesperson for the Coast Guard told The Irish Times: “This was a very technical operation and had to be planned and handled with care. When we realized this was a person on a ledge rather than on the cliff trail itself, we requested assistance from the helicopter.”
“We had to consider how the downwash from the helicopter might affect the rescue attempt so it was decided the helicopter would land nearby. We set up our climbing equipment and the helicopter winchman/paramedic abseiled down to the ledge with a Coast Guard member and secured the casualty. Only then did the helicopter move into place to lift her from the ledge. It was a complex rescue all the services worked very well together.”
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Upon being rescued, the injured woman was airlifted to University Hospital Galway hospital to be further treated for her injuries.
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