An injured 57-year-old woman has been airlifted to hospital from the beach at Compton by the Lee-on-Solent Coastguard helicopter this evening (Monday).
The incident began sometime around 17:30 with paramedics and an operational commander from the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service mobilised to reports of a casualty on the West Wight beach.
Due to the remote location of the incident, the assistance of Needles Coastguard Rescue Team was soon requested. The decision was then taken to call in the support of Coastguard Rescue 175.
With the beach cleared of holidaymakers the helicopter touched down at 18:30 and the casualty was transferred onboard, taking off less than 10 minutes later.
The casualty is now being treated for unknown injuries at St Mary’s Hospital having been flown directly to the helipad – landing at 18:45. The injuries sustained are not thought to be life-threatening with a local hospital chosen over a regional trauma centre.
UPDATE @ 19:20 – Both the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service and HM Coastguard have now stood down from the incident.
Teams have returned to their vehicles on the cliff top and are leaving the scene.
UPDATE @ 23:10 – A spokesperson for Needles Coastguard Rescue Team has said:
“Tasked at 17:14 to assist the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service with an injured 57yr old female casualty at the bottom of Compton Steps.
“Arriving on scene an assessment of the casualty had been made by the Ambulance service and due to the injuries, the surrounding topography and tidal state the safest form of extrication for all was deemed to be via Coastguard Helicopter.
“Landing close to the incident the casualty was packaged and carried to the helicopter for onward transfer to St.Marys Hospital.
“Back on Station by 19:50 after collecting our stretcher from A&E.”
If you or someone else is in difficulty on the coast or at sea, or if you spot what you think may be unexploded ordnance, then dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Further safety information can be found at https://coastguardsafety.campaign.gov.uk/.
Get help faster by giving emergency services your exact location by using ///what3words.
what3words have divided the world into 3m squares and given each square a unique combination of three words, which means when you are in a remote area of the Isle of Wight you can get assistance much quicker without the need for local knowledge.
So what happened??…..what’s the reason this came about???.
A fall down the steps I would guess. Does it matter how it happened?