Man saved after hell of 22 hours trapped in a sea cave
A MAN in his 40s has been dramatically rescued from a sea cave after being stranded inside for a terrifying 22 hours.
As rescuers were desperately trying to reach him, crowds gathered around the area on Downpatrick Head, north Mayo, praying for the best.
Thankfully, the multi-agency response brought the man to safety around 4pm yesterday.
He was immediately transported to hospital by the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118.
He had been walking with friends on the cliff-top when a freak wave from the rough sea washed him and a woman into the water.
The alarm was raised at 6pm on Saturday, launching a major search and rescue operation. This involved gardaí, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the Coast Guard, Irish Cave Rescue, and the Civil Defence.
He was swept into the cave along with a woman as the tide came in. The woman was rescued by a nearby kayaker, but the man was cut off by the tide in the cave overnight. He sheltered at the back of the cave to keep his head above water.
Fire and ambulance crews were also involved in the man’s rescue.
Contact was made with him early into the rescue operation, and he was constantly checked on by lifeboats throughout the night to ensure he was coping.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Michael Hurst of the Ballyglass Coast Guard said while he was safe inside the cave, the major concern was the risk of him developing hypothermia, but thankfully he survived the ordeal and was in ‘good form’ throughout the night.
‘Hypothermia was the main concern. He was fairly secure inside in the cave. He was about four metres from sea level.
‘Last night, the lifeboat played a big part in that as well where they kept an eye on him every half hour They would call into him to make sure he was okay. It kept everybody going to know that he was in good spirits. The layout of the cave, you have the wash coming in. So even high water or low water, you would have the tide rushing in and rushing out. So it just made it all the more difficult to actually get a boat in there to try and rescue him,’ Mr Hurst added.
Treacherous sea conditions made rescue attempts difficult so the decision was made to wait until a lower tide yesterday afternoon. Emergency services were on standby to treat the man as he arrived back on shore.
He was tied to a rope and assisted up the side of the cliff. He was on his feet and helped into the back of the helicopter where he was brought to hospital for medical observation.
‘The cave rescue team actually climbed down from the top. They screwed in shackles into the side of the cave and attached ropes, so they managed to get into him by utilising that. [Then] they were able to bring him out by rope.
‘For all concerned, for all the emergency services that were on scene, certainly it was the best outcome we could have wished for,’ Mr Hurst said.
Mayo Garda Division Superintendent Gabriel Moran, who co-ordinated the operation, told RTÉ: ‘Thankfully, it’s a real positive result and a huge debt of gratitude is owed to all those in the various services, particularly all the volunteers, who’ve given up the last 24 hours to be here.’
Supt Moran said the man had been with several people in the area yesterday. He had been walking with a woman along a ledge that allows access to caves near the Downpatrick Head.
He was washed into the cave and was unable to get out, with initial efforts to rescue him proving unsuccessful.
Describing the difficulty in rescuing the trapped man, Supt
‘Hypothermia was the concern’
Moran said: ‘The cave itself has a wide funnel-like structure and narrows as it goes back.
‘There’s a ledge at the edge of it which means as the waves come in you get surges, which are exacerbated by the narrowing of the cave so what seems like a gentle wave out here, in that context can be quite threatening.’
Agatha Hurst of the RNLI said: ‘It’s amazing. You couldn’t get a better result. Thank God he is safe. He was able to walk off on that edge himself and thanks to all the different agencies that got together – the lifeboat, the Coast Guard, the cliff and coastal rescues – all worked together to get that man safe.’