July 2009 - Dramatic Cliff Rescue at Fairhead

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a call from the Fire and Rescue Service at 15.56pm on Saturday afternoon requesting medical assistance at a cliff rescue at Fairhead, following reports of a climber having being crushed and trapped by a large boulder.  A BASICS doctor working for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was flown from George Belfast City Airport to Fairhead along with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service technical rescue team. Due to strong winds at the cliff edge the helicopter was unable to winch the rescuers directly to the scene and they instead abseiled the 400 feet down the vertical cliff face to rendezvous with the Coastguard team already on site. The male patient’s condition was stabilised and his serious injuries treated by the doctor while the Fire Service team worked to lift the one and a half tonne boulder which had crushed and trapped him. Once free, the patient was winched back up the cliff face and hoisted into the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter for the flight to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. In all, the patient was trapped for 5-6 hours, with the last of the rescuers returning to base by boat at around 11.05pm.

In all, the rescue was one of the most challenging faced by all the local services in recent years, and the successful outcome was only possible through the commitment and close teamwork of all those involved. We believe the patient is progressing well in hospital and hope that he makes a full and speedy recovery.