Tourists rescued after 25ft plunge into ravine
AN emergency rescue operation swung into action yesterday on the North Coast after a female tourist and her husband became trapped after falling 25ft into a ravine.
The Coastguard, Fire and Rescue Service and NI Ambulance personnel rushed to the scene near Layde Church outside Cushendall shortly after 4pm yesterday.
The Coastguard team involved in the difficult two-hour operation included cliff rescue specialists from Ballycastle, Larne and Coleraine.
With daylight almost gone, fire crews from Cushendall, Ballymena and Carnlough were also called in to the incident.
It is understood the tourist initially fell about 10 feet down a grassy slope, but then suffered another fall of around 15 feet.
Her husband entered the ravine to help her, but he too got into difficulties.
A third member of their party then raised the alarm.
Rope rescue equipment was set up and the Coastguard rescue teams brought the woman back up and handed her over to the ambulance crew for assessment and treatment, according to Fire Service group commander Archie McKay.
A Coastguard spokesman said the woman had suffered injuries to her face and hands, and had been taken to Antrim Area Hospital for treatment.
Connor Lawson, senior maritime operations officer with HM Coastguard at Belfast Coastguard Operations Centre, said: “This was a particularly tricky rescue and shows just why our Coastguard rescue teams have to be trained in rope rescue.” KATE Silverton is the latest celebrity to be booted off Strictly Come Dancing, waving goodbye to the series during Blackpool Week.
The newsreader and dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec (right) faced former cricketer Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse in the dance-off after their scores combined with the public vote put them in last place.
Silverton and Skorjanec again performed their American smooth to Everlasting Love by Love Affair, while Swann and Mabuse repeated their theatre and jazz routine to The Trolley Song from the film Meet Me In St Louis.
The judges unanimously chose to save Swann and Mabuse, leaving Silverton and Skorjanec to waltz away from the dancefloor.
Silverton (48) told her dance partner: “As your student I couldn’t be more grateful, it’s been a magical experience. We enjoyed our training days probably more than even the Saturdays sometimes.
“We’ve had fun and I’ve been learning new skills.
“Aljaz is one of life’s more special people and we’ve become such good friends. It has been a journey, without trying to sound like a cliche. It’s been brilliant to be part of.
“I knew I’d enjoy it. I don’t normally make decisions based on anything other than joy. I hoped it would be joyful and gleeful and it was.”
The BBC news anchor said that she hopes she keeps dancing now that her Strictly journey is over.
Skorjanec (28) said: “We took it week by week and it’s been a beautiful journey for both of us. We’ve improved on a daily basis, not even weekly.” He added: “This has been the first time while I’ve been on it when, from about two to three weeks ago, we could not tell who would be in the bottom two or going home. “It’s been such a tight competition.” The pair had been given 30 points for their routine during Saturday’s show — filmed at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom — putting them second to last on the leaderboard. Paralympian Lauren Steadman and AJ Pritchard, who had come at the bottom with just 25, managed to avoid the dance off entirely, thanks to the public vote.
Former Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev scored the first 40 points of the series for their jive.