A surfer has been airlifted to hospital after he got into difficulty on the Clare coastline this morning.
The alarm was raised at around 11.30am when the Irish Coast Guard received a report of an incident in Baltard Bay south of Doonbeg.
It’s understood that a member of the public spotted a person lying the rocks in apparent difficulty. The observer raised the alarm and also attracted the attention of other surfers in the area who went to the casualty’s assistance.
The Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard, National Ambulance Service and Gardaí were all alerted while the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter was tasked to the scene.
It’s understood that the casualty sustained an injury while surfing but managed to make it safely onto the rocks.
Rescue 115’s winchman/paramedic was lowered down to the scene beneath the cliffs. The operation was described as ‘difficult’ with conditions in the area reported to be ‘challenging.’
After assessing and treating the injured surfer, the casualty was eventually winched on board the helicopter and flown to University Hospital Galway for treatment.
