Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Coast guard crash victim’s ‘lifejacket and helmet found’
A HELMET and lifejacket thought to belong to a missing member of tragic Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 have been found in the Atlantic.
The items were discovered by a fisherman hauling in nets and are believed to be connected to the crash last year.
The jacket and helmet were recovered last Thursday around 12km south of where the helicopter went down off the coast of Mayo.
It is thought they belonged to winch operator Paul Ormsby.
Gardai have confirmed the items were handed in to the station in Belmullet, Co Mayo.
The crash occurred in the early hours of March 14, 2017, when the helicopter was assisting in a rescue off the West Coast.
Rescue 116 hit Blackrock Island while it was travelling to refuel at Blacksod and went down in the sea killing all four crew on board.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick’s body was recovered within hours of the crash but she was pronounced dead at hospital.
Captain Mark Duffy’s remains were found in the wreckage off Blackrock Island by divers on March 26, 2017. Two other crew members – winchman Ciaran Smith and winch operator Ormsby – are still missing.
DOWN
LITTLE Olivia Cullen sadly passed away in May 2012 after battling a number of illnesses in her short life.
Despite their sadness, her Co Down family have always wanted to do something positive in her memory and so far they have raised over £50,000 for charity.
This year parents Emma and Philip Cullen are holding a golf tournament in aid of the emergency department at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
The hospital was somewhere where Olivia spent a lot of time after being rushed there on Christmas Day 2011.
Passing away at just 18 months old, the toddler had a rare chromosomal condition – HMG-COA synthase deficiency – which meant her body did not respond as it should when she contracted a norovirus.
Olivia had lengthy waits for an adult MRI scanner – the hospital being the only one of its kind in the UK or Ireland not to have its own children’s scanner.
And while quicker scans would not have ultimately saved Olivia, it would have lessened the family’s trauma.
So one of the Downpatrick family’s first achievements was to raise £20,000 for the Children’s Heartbeat Trust – one of the charities that ultimately helped secure a children’s MRI scanner.
Other beneficiaries have included the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Royal, where Olivia spent several weeks. Emma, also mum to son Eoin, said: “On May 27, 2012, we lost our beautiful angel, Olivia. This is the sixth year we have decided to raise money.
“We, as a family, believe that the emergency department of the RBHSC is a very important charity and one we hold very close to our hearts.
“Last year we raised £5,800 for respiratory equipment for RBHSC. The total we have raised so far is £53,000.” Emma said the family wanted to express their appreciation to the “fantastic” staff at the emergency department who saved the life of Olivia when she was rushed in on Christmas Day 2011, allowing them five more precious months with Olivia.
She added: “Staff that first day we came in were fantastic. They were brilliant with Olivia and very, very supportive to us. We just want to say thanks.”
Emma explained the money raised this year would be passed to the emergency department through the Helping Hands charity.
The Olivia Cullen Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on August 3, at St Patrick’s Golf Club in Downpatrick.
For more information follow the Olivia Cullen Memorial Golf Tournament on Facebook.
CO YESTERDAY ANGEL