It has been recently revealed that the crew onboard the Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter 116 were called out to rescue a fisherman who cut the top of his thumb onboard his trawler.
According to the Irish Mirror the rescue team were sent to assist the crew of rescue helicopter 118 after confusion arose about the seriousness of the man’s condition after he contacted the Coast Gaurd from medical assistance last Monday night.
The paper claims they have recieved information about the details of the communication that was sent to Cork University Hospital in regards to the extent of the Scottish fisherman’s injuries on board his vessel.
It is believed that two rescue helicopters were sent to the scene of the minor emergency which occurred approximately 150 miles off the West Coast after the communications detail at CUH failed to clarify the severity of the man’s condition.
The Irish Coast Gaurd now say the the miscommunication led to both rescue helicopters being sent to the location. The paper further states that upon arrival the team onboard rescue helicopter 118 stayed onboard the vessel for over an hour after they discovered that the man had only recieved relatively minor injuries.
However it is believed that rescue helicopter 116 was already en-route before it was discovered that the fisherman had only cut off the top of his thumb, despite previous reports suggesting that he had lost a large proportion of his hand which led to the full-scale medical evacuation.
The Coast Gaurd later revealed that the man was later transferred to University Hospital Galway to recieve plastic surgery on his thumb after he returned onboard rescue helicopter 118.
The horrifying news comes a full week after the crew of four onboard rescue helicopter 116 went down near Blackrock Island, with the fatal crash claiming the life of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick whilst the three remaining crew members remain missing.
H/T: The Irish Mirror