An injured person was rescued after falling from a pier in Galway City in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The Galway RNLI Lifeboat was called out after a person fell from Nimmo’s Pier in the city around 4am on Saturday morning.
The inshore lifeboat was helmed by Brian Niland with crew members Dave Badger, Lisa McDonagh and James Rattigan onboard.
They were supported by shore crew Mike Cummins, Shane Austin, Aaron O’Reilly, Frank Leonard and Ian Claxton.
The lifeboat and crew reached the casualty, who landed on a sand bank and had suspected upper limb injuries, within minutes.
Two of the crew who are trained in first aid, got out of the lifeboat onto the sand bank and using a stretcher were able to safely bring the casualty onboard the lifeboat.
The lifeboat and crew arrived back to the lifeboat station just before 5am where an ambulance was waiting to bring the casualty to hospital.
Speaking after returning to the station, Galway RNLI Helm Brian Niland said: ‘Weather conditions were good this morning and even though it was dark, there was good visibility and the sea was calm.”
“With the help of our shore crew, we were able to launch the lifeboat and get to the scene within minutes. Low tide was at 4.30am and this worked in our favour as it meant that the casualty was not in any imminent danger of being swept out to sea.”
“However, time is of the essence in situations like this. If you see someone in difficulty please dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.”
