A RESCUE helicopter had to be sent out twice to rescue a 60-year-old injured sailor off the Co Clare coast yesterday after the man originally declined medical assistance and refused to be airlifted from a yacht.
Lifeboat crew members eventually persuaded the man's companions that it was in his best interest to be airlifted to hospital after his condition deteriorated badly. The man was one of six people on the French-registered yacht which was in Carrigaholt Bay at the time of the incident.
The Irish rescue operation, which was co-ordinated by Valentia Coast Guard Radio, also involved the Coast Guard, RNLI and HSE ambulance service.
However, it is not clear how much of a delay there was between the time of the incident and when the Coast Guard was notified, as it has emerged that instead of using the dedicated emergency channel on their VHF marine radio, the crew used a mobile phone to contact a person in France. That person in turn telephoned another person in England, who then contacted the regional ambulance control centre in Limerick, which notified the Coast Guard.
At about 5.30am yesterday, the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was sent to airlift the injured sailor from the yacht Cigogné moored in the west of the county. It had been reported that the man had sustained a head injury after being accidentally struck by a sail boom.
On arrival, the injured man's companions advised the helicopter crew that he was refusing to be airlifted from the yacht and soon afterwards the helicopter returned to its base at Shannon.
Valentia Coast Guard then requested the Kilrush RNLI lifeboat to go to the scene and assess the situation.
Kilrush RNLI lifeboat operations manager John Lambe said, "We got the call from the Coast Guard at around 5.45am after the casualty had apparently declined to be airlifted from the yacht earlier. We sent the lifeboat to the scene, where our crew discovered that the man's condition had deteriorated and that he was vomiting and bleeding from the nose. It was then decided that it would be better to call the chopper back in and the other crew members agreed."
The rescue helicopter arrived at about 6.30am. The sailor, who was by now unconscious, was airlifted to University Hospital in Galway, where his condition was said to be "critical".
There were a total of six people on board the 35ft French-registered vessel anchored in Carrigaholt Bay. It is understood that the yacht had been chartered by the crew.
Gardaí at Kilrush have confirmed that they are investigating the circumstances of the incident as it involved a serious injury. They were expected to meet and interview crew members yesterday.