German youth seriously hurt in fall from pier

July 1989

A CRITICALLY injured young German tourist lay for almost two hours on Wicklow’s little beach last Thursday afternoon, before being airlifted by helicopter for emergency treatment at a Dublin hospital.

18-year-old Michael Kranz, a member of a group of over 30 Germans currently holidaying in the area, sustained neck and lung injuries when he fell while play-acting with friends at the pier.

He was rescued form the water by local lifeguard Fergal Doyle, while medical personnel provided oxygen and treatment at the scene until a helicopter arrived to airlift the injured man to Our Lady’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire.

The young tourist sustained his injuries when he tumbled from the pier head first into shallow water.

The alert lifeguard moved him no further than the shoreline for fear of causing further spinal damage.

It was for this reason also that he was not removed from the scene by ambulance.