Fisherman is ‘devastated’ over R116

THE fisherman at the centre of the R116 rescue is still in hospital and colleagues say he is ‘devastated’ by what happened to the crew of the helicopter.

He was aboard the Scottish-owned King Cross trawler when his hand was mangled on Monday evening last week. Miscommunication about the nature of the injuries was responsible for the Irish Coast Guard helicopter R116 embarking on its ill-fated mission.

‘He is devastated,’ a member of staff at Lunar Fishing in Peterhead, north of Aberdeen, told the Irish Daily Mail last night. The staff member also said the ship’s crew are ‘very disappointed about what happened’. Another staff member added: ‘As far as I know, the crew member is still in hospital but I don’t know where.’ This may indicate the fisherman, who lost the top of his thumb in the accident, may have been more seriously injured than many initially believed.

The Dublin-based R116 had been dispatched to act as ‘top-level’ safety and communications support for the Co. Sligo-based R118, which took the fisherman off the trawler about 150 nautical miles west of Eagle Island, off the Mayo coast.

It is understood the advice to conduct the emergency evacuation was based on information received about the man’s hand having been amputated. It was only when the R118 reached the vessel that it was discovered the fisherman had severed only the tip of his thumb.

They kept him on board for about an hour while they joined the search for their missing R116 colleagues, before he was landed at Blacksod – from where he made the 97km journey to Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar by road.