A 13-year-old boy was being treated in hospital last night after being dramatically rescued from a ledge on the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare. Peter Fitzpatrick, from Cornagort, Doolin, was airlifted to University College Hospital Galway after he was winched in a stretcher to the top of the cliffs following a massive rescue operation.
He slipped and fell about 40 feet on to a ledge while walking with his brother and a friend on a steep path at around 8 p.m.
Local gardai last night praised the efforts of a number of local people in the emergency rescue, which took place in difficult weather conditions.
The boys were following a path down the cliffs and were getting close to the ground below when the accident occurred.
Doolin Cliff and Sea Rescue was alerted immediately and gardai and an ambulance crew from Ennistymon were also called.
As the rescue operation got under way, the Shannon-based Marine Rescue helicopter and a lifeboat from the Aran Islands tried unsuccessfully to reach the injured boy. However, an Australian nurse at the scene managed to join him on the ledge and a group of between 20 and 30 people assisted in a delicate rescue operation.
He was eventually winched 500 feet to the cliff-top with the assistance of the Doolin Cliff and Sea Rescue.
The Marine Rescue helicopter then returned to the scene to airlift the boy to hospital in Galway.
It is understood he sustained a broken collar bone and other injuries in the accident.
A 27-year-old local man fell to his death from the cliffs on Sunday last.