Baby boy fighting for his life after family falls from pier
Baby Liam Collins and his sister Theresa were in a double buggy when the freak accident happened at Westport pier, Co Mayo.
They were rescued along with their mother, Mary, 28, by members of Westport United Ladies Soccer Club who were training in a nearby pitch.
One of the rescuers, Mary Gill, said a woman came running to the pitch entrance and shouted that a child had fallen into the water.
“The whole team headed to the pier to see if we could be of assistance. We ran along the pier to find where they had gone in. I spotted the woman and the buggy in the water. My colleague Helen Mulhall took off her boots and said she’d try to save the children. The little girl was above the water in the buggy but the little boy was submerged,” Ms Gill said.
A third woman, Anne Heraty, also joined in the rescue along with local man John Walsh from Belclare who arrived at the scene in a dinghy. Together they managed to get the family out of the water.
“It all happened very quickly. I hope the family will be ok,” Ms Gill said.
Mrs Collins and the two children were rushed to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar. Liam Collins was later transferred to Crumlin Children’s Hospital, Dublin where he is in a critical condition. Both Mrs Collins and her daughter were described as stable.
Gardaí are seeking witnesses to the accident which happened at 8.30pm on Monday night as the family, members of the local Travelling community, were walking along the pier.
A garda spokesman said they had two possible explanations for the accident.
“It could have been that one of the wheels came off the buggy and it suddenly toppled over the pier. It’s also possible that the older child was looking at a passing boat and leant out toppling the buggy over and their mother jumped in trying to save them,” the spokesman said. Gardaí are appealing to anybody who witnessed the accident to contact them at 098-25555.
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