Portrush RNLI was requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard at 7.15pm on Tuesday evening to reports of a person who had fallen onto rocks between Portrush and Portstewart on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast.
The all-weather lifeboat was already out on exercise so was diverted to the scene and was able to arrive some 10 minutes after the pagers were activated.
Once on scene, the crew realised that the person was unresponsive, and liaising with the PSNI and coastguard on a plan of action. At this point the inshore lifeboat was requested to launch to assist evacuation of the casualty.
The volunteer crew were then able to assist the casualty into the care of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, coastguard and the waiting Air Ambulance at the top of the cliff.
Perry Walton, deputy coxswain at Portrush said: “Because the crew were already out on an exercise, we were able to respond to the page from HMCG very quickly.
“Added to the fact that weather conditions were good, we had good visibility and a fairly calm sea, we could locate the casualty immediately and help with the evacuation of the casualty to the cliff top.
“We would always ask people to be careful when walking along the cliff edges as its very easy to lose footing. If you see someone in difficulty, please ring 999 and ask for the coastguard.”
