Boy brought to hospital after ‘medevac’ from Sherkin

BALTIMORE RNLI were called out to provide a medical evacuation late last night (Thursday) from Sherkin Island off the coast of Baltimore.

The volunteer lifeboat crew, under coxswain Kieran Cotter, launched their all-weather lifeboat at 11.50pm, following a request from the Irish Coast Guard to provide medical assistance and evacuation to a boy who had sustained an injury earlier that day.

The Baltimore all-weather lifeboat crew, along with two HSE paramedics, arrived at Sherkin Island a few minutes after launching.  The paramedics did an initial assessment before the voluntary lifeboat crew brought the casualty onboard the lifeboat.

The lifeboat then returned to the station in Baltimore at 00.21am where the casualty was transferred to the ambulance and brought to hospital.

Conditions at sea during the call out were calm with a westerly force 2-3 wind, no sea swell but visibility was poor.

Speaking following the call-out, Kate Callanan, Baltimore RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer said: ‘This is the second call-out to a medical evacuation on an island for Baltimore lifeboat in the past week.  If you find yourself in need of medical assistance whilst at sea or on an island, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.  We wish the casualty a speedy recovery.’

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around Ireland and the UK. The RNLI operates 46 lifeboat stations in Ireland. The RNLI is independent of government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, the charity has saved over 142,700 lives.