Man injured after timber delivery falls on him

A man was airlifted to hospital after a consignment of timber fell on him while he was making a delivery in Co Galway yesterday. 

The alarm was raised at 2.20pm following the incident which occurred at a house near Newtown about 3km from Gort.

It’s understood that the 27-year-old man had backed his truck into driveway at the front of the property and was unloading the timber when the accident happened. A pallet of timber is believed to have tipped over on top of the man trapping him beneath. The property owners quickly raised the alarm.

A unit of the fire brigade along with gardaí from nearby Gort responded to the call while an ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedic unit from Ennis, Co Clare, over 30km away, were also sent the scene.

Fire crews arrived to find the man trapped under the timber and quickly set about carefully removing the wood. Fire service first responders administered first aid and stabilised the casualty until paramedics arrived.

Paramedics requested assistance from the Emergency Aeromedical Service air ambulance which was already on its way to a call in Co Clare. It’s understood the Air Corps helicopter was responding to an incident in north Clare when it was rerouted to the more serious incident near Gort.

It’s understood the man sustained leg and arm injuries and according to one emergency worker, was lucky his head appeared not to have been struck by the timber.

The injured man was airlifted to University Hospital Galway for treatment.