Rock climber recovers after 5m fall

A 45-YEAR-OLD man is recovering in hospital after falling up to five metres from a rock face at a popular climbing location in Co Clare on Sunday.

The man, who was the lead climber with a group of enthusiasts, sustained multiple injuries and was knocked unconscious when he lost his footing and fell to the ground at Ailladee, Ballyreen, north of Doolin.

The alarm was raised at about 1.20pm and the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard (ICG) was scrambled to the scene.

First responders treated the man at the scene until HSE medics and the Shannon-based ICG helicopter arrived.

Other ICG volunteers laid out smoke canisters to mark a safe area for the helicopter to land.

An ambulance and Rapid Response Advanced Paramedic unit from Ennis were also sent to the incident.

The man was treated and immobilised at the scene before he was transferred to the helicopter and airlifted to University Hospital Galway where he was being treated last night.

An ICG spokesman said: “We were called when a climber had sustained injuries in a fall. A HSE Ambulance was at the scene but needed further assistance to extract the casualty who had fallen about 5 metres.

“The team went to the area and the Shannon based Irish Coast Guard Rescue helicopter (Rescue 1-1-5), was also tasked.

“Team members attended to the casualty and when the helicopter arrived, their winch-man, a trained paramedic, was lowered and the climber, along with a HSE Advanced Paramedic who had also been called,” the spokesman added.

Last January, an Irish army sergeant was injured when he fell from rocks at the same location. The man, in his 40s, who was attached to the 1st Field Engineer Unit based at Collins Barracks in Cork, fell almost 20 feet while he was assessing other climbing instructors.

Last August, also in the same area, a 64-year-old rock climber cheated death after he fell 10 metres from a rock face and was only saved by his safety harness and the quick actions of other climbers.

The Scottish man had been climbing at the popular and scenic location with a friend when part of his climbing equipment failed. The man was also airlifted to hospital in Galway.