Young woman airlifted to hospital after cliff climbing accident in Clare

A young woman has been airlifted to hospital after she was injured in a climbing accident in North Clare this evening.

The woman in her 20s is understood to have fallen between 6 and 8 metres (20 to 26 feet) onto rocks below.

The incident occurred at around 7.30pm at Ailladie off the R477 Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan coast road. The alarm was raised by the woman’s climbing companions. They had been climbing on a cliff face known as the Mirror Wall.

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The National Ambulance Service, Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard and the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter were all requested to respond to the accident.

Coast Guard volunteers were able to make their way down to the base of the cliff where they found the casualty being cared for by friends.

Rescue 115 was able to land at the base of the cliff a safe distance from the scene. The helicopter’s winchman/paramedic assessed and treated the woman at the scene before she was stretchered by Coast Guard volunteers to the waiting aircraft.

The woman was airlifted to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. She is understood to have sustained lower back injuries which are not believed to be serious. The woman is understood to be from Limerick.

The rescue operation was coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard's marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.

There are several climbing locations on both the land and sea side areas of the coast road on the edge of the Burren which are popular with climbing clubs, search and rescue groups and the Irish Defence Forces among others.

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