"Fall Victim's Miracle
Rescue"
The Kingdom, 12/1/93.
A dramatic rescue mission was put into operation at the weekend
after a South Kerry farmer plummeted down a mountain where he
lay injured and stranted in agony for a number of hours. And members
of the Rescue Team involved have said that were it not for the
alertness of the man's neighbour - who happened by freak chance
to witness him falling - the victim would have died from exposure.
Donal O'Sullivan, (names changed) from Coombeatha, was herding
sheep on a mountainside in the Ballaghasheen area shortly after
lunchtime on Saturday when he lost his footing and fell down the
mountain. The fall was witnessed by his neighbour, John McCormack,
who happened to be scanning the mountainside through a pair of
binoculars at the time. The onlooker alerted the Gardaí
and a major rescue plan was put to work.
A unit of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team was joined by members
of the Valentia Coastal Rescue Team in the testing rescue operation
carried out under extremely difficult conditions. Local doctor
Kieran O'Shea was airlifted to the mountainside by an Air Corps
helicopter and he administered medical treatment to the badly
injured man.
After a marathon rescue procedure, Mr. O'Sullivan was eventually
stretchered off the mountain shortly before 10 o'clock that night
and was taken by ambulance to Caherciveen before being transferred
to Limerick General Hospital by helicopter. A hospital spokesperson
last night described his condition as "very comfortable."
Kerry Mountain Rescue Team member Louis O'Toole told The Kingdom
that Mr. O'Sullivan - who is in his late 30's and single - was
very lucky to have survived. "Had his neighbour not spotted
him falling we might never have found him as it's a very remote
area," he said. "He would almost certainly have died
from exposure and, as it was, he was hypothermic when we removed
him from the mountain."
Onlookers said Mr. O'Sullivan appeared to be in considerable
pain when he was brought from the mountainside to Caherciveen.
Over thirty people were involved in the rescue which was spearheaded
by Kerry Mountain Rescue Team co-ordinator Tim Long.
