An injured man fisherman airlifted to hospital yesterday from a boat off Kerry coast, The Irish Times reports.

The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to assist the crewmember on the UK-registered fishing vessel Achieve, some 110 miles southwest of the Blasket Islands. 

He was airlifted to Tralee Regional Hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries.

The incident marked the fourth time that the Shannon helicopter has been called into action this week. 

This included its assistance of the crew of the yacht Rambler 100, which capsized near Fastnet Rock while competing in this year's Rolex Fastnet Race last weekend.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) spotted killer whales off the coast of county Kerry during an offshore survey last weekend.  The killer whales crossed within two metres of the bow of the research vessel, others swam just beneath the surface keeping a parallel course with the surveyors.

The sighting of an adult pod is a rare encounter in Irish waters. 2010 has been a good year for killer whale sightings here with 14 validated records to date. 

IWDG surveyors were able to photograph the whales and have sent the findings to expert researchers  in the University of Aberdeen. It is understood these are new animals, not previously catalogued during the past few years of surveying killer whales in the North East Atlantic.

More on the sightings HERE.

 

An Air Corps maritime patrol aircraft made an emergency landing at Kerry Airport yesterday. The Casa aircraft had been on maritime patrol off the southwest coast with six personnel on board when smoke was detected in the cabin. The aircraft diverted to Farranfore, where it landed without incident at 10.55am.