A MAN HAS been airlifted to hospital after he was injured in a climbing accident in north Clare yesterday evening.

The incident occurred at around 8pm at Ailladie off the R477 Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan coast road.

The alarm was raised by the man’s climbing companions. The group had been climbing on a seaside cliff face known as the Mirror Wall.

While it’s not known how far the man fell, the cliff is up to 35 metres (115 feet) high at the location. The incident was almost identical in every aspect to an accident at the same location on 24 May when a female climber suffered serious injuries in a fall.

The National Ambulance Service, Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard and the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter were all requested to respond to this evening’s accident.

Coast Guard volunteers and ambulance paramedics were able to make their way down to the base of the cliff where they found the casualty laying on boulders and being cared for by his friends.

Rescue 115 was able to land at the base of the cliff a safe distance from the scene.

The helicopter’s winchman/paramedic assessed and treated the injured man before Coast Guard volunteers and ambulance paramedics stretchered the casualty across difficult terrain to the waiting helicopter.

The man was airlifted to University Hospital Galway for treatment.

The rescue operation was coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.

There are several climbing locations on both the land and sea side areas of the coast road on the edge of the Burren which are popular with climbing clubs, search and rescue groups and the Irish Defence Forces among others.