Boy in hospital after abseiling accident

An 11-year-old boy is being treated in hospital in Limerick this evening following an abseiling accident in Tipperary earlier today.

He was airlifted to safety after falling about a hundred metres into a gorge near Newport.

The young boy was abseiling near Newport in Co Tipperary this afternoon when he fell about a hundred metres into a gorge.

The emergency services were called to the scene but an ambulance was unable to reach him and they contacted the Valentia Coastguard for help.

It dispatched the Shannon-based helicopter which airlifted the boy to safety at about 5.20pm this evening.

He was flown to Coonagh airfield in Limerick where an ambulance was waiting to transfer him to Limerick Regional Hospital.

The coastguard says he had suspected spinal injuries.