A woman living on Cape Clear Island off the coast of West Cork was evacuated by the Baltimore RNLI on Wednesday night. The Irish Coast Guard had requested the medical evacuation, and the volunteer lifeboat crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 11:07 PM. The Baltimore all-weather lifeboat crew arrived at North Harbour on Cape Clear Island at 11:33 PM, where the casualty was assessed by some of the Casualty Care lifeboat crew members. After the assessment, she was transferred via stretcher onboard the lifeboat and taken back to Baltimore station, where she was handed over to the HSE Ambulance crew.
The call out was made under fresh conditions with a southwesterly force 5-6 wind and a choppy sea, but the seven-strong volunteer crew onboard the lifeboat, including Coxswain Aidan Bushe, Mechanic Cathal Cottrell, and crew members Micheal Cottrell, Colin Whooley, Stuart Musgrave, David Ryan, and Don O’Donovan, managed to complete the mission safely.
Kate Callanan, Baltimore RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, said, “Baltimore RNLI often provides medical evacuations to residents and visitors to the islands off the coast of West Cork, including Cape Clear, Sherkin, and Heir. If you find yourself in a medical emergency while on an island, call 999 or 112.”
