Hospital praises staff for response

The director of nursing at Cork University Hospital (CUH) has praised the up to 300 staff who responded to the plane crash today…

The director of nursing at Cork University Hospital (CUH) has praised the up to 300 staff who responded to the plane crash today in which six people died.

Six survivors were treated at the hospital for injuries including fractures and punctured lungs after the aircraft crashed on landing at Cork airport and caught fire.

The five men and one woman, who are understood to be in their 40s and 50s, incurred non life-threatening injuries. Four of the patients are seriously injured while two are described as being in a "comfortable" condition.

Dr Mary Boyd, director of nursing at the hospital, told journalists at a media briefing she was immensely proud of the emergency plan which was put in to effect after the emergency call came through at 10am. A team from CUH was immediately sent to the crash site to help stabilise and diagnose the injured.

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Dr Boyd said staff at the hospital train for major emergency incidents on a regular basis. "We are very grateful to the outside agencies and all of the staff within the organisation who worked here today.

“They get drills regularly on how to behave when this happens. We are really thankful to the other agencies for their support, they have been fantastic."

Consultant in emergency medicine Dr Gerry McCarthy said a room had been set up for bereaved families.

It is understood a priest arrived before noon o pray with them and the bereaved were also being comforted by the chaplain at the hospital.

Dr McCarthy said the survivors had not required surgery but that the situation was ongoing and surgery could be required at a later stage.

Two of the injured parties sustained soft tissue injuries. They were hospitalised for observation and were said to be "very upset".

Dr McCarthy said four of the injured were in a "serious" but not critical condition with "one or two" in the Intensive Care Unit. None of the injured sustained serious burns.