Injured fisherman airlifted to Galway hospital

Rescuers today plucked an injured man from a fishing vessel in the Irish Sea, airlifting him to hospital in Co Galway, coastguards said today.

An RAF helicopter lifted the casualty from the French-registered Marmouset 180 miles from the west coast of Ireland.

Poor weather conditions and the distance from the Irish mainland had hampered earlier attempts by the Sea King helicopter, on standby at Blacksod on the Co Mayo coastline, from reaching the Marmouset.

Rescuers had been trying to get to the vessel, which has a Spanish crew, since last night after the fisherman suffered concussion when he was knocked unconscious.

Co-ordinating the operation, Clyde Coastguard said the helicopter crew, who were stationed in Anglesey, north Wales, this morning decided to attempt the rescue and have now returned to Co Galway.

A spokesman said: ‘‘A lot of it was trying to get the vessel within the range of the helicopter. They only have a limited fuel capacity, so the boat needs to be quite close.

‘‘We had an RAF fixed-wing aircraft from Kinloss, which is a long-range reconnaissance craft, supporting the rescue.

‘‘It is so far over the Atlantic we need to pin point the exact position of the casualty so that the helicopter can go straight out and back again.’’

The coastguard added the man’s condition was stable when he was transferred to the helicopter at 7.45am. He was being taken to hospital in Co Galway for treatment.

The ship’s crew had been in contact with a doctor via the coastguards in order to assess the health of the injured man, who later regained consciousness.

Clyde Coastguard, which has responsibility for rescues at sea far into the Atlantic, was alerted to the incident by Spanish authorities late last night.