A man has been airlifted to Southampton’s Major Trauma Centre after falling around 20 metres down a cliff at Luccombe this afternoon (Friday).
Emergency services responded in their numbers to the incident at Luccombe, between Shanklin and Ventnor, where a male is understood to have taken a severe tumble. The alarm was raised at around 14:30, as previously reported by Island Echo.
Flying doctors from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance landed on the beach at Luccombe to join paramedics from the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service and Coastguard Rescue Officers from both Bembridge and Ventnor. Volunteers from Sandown & Shanklin Independent Lifeboat were also present and assisted in transferring Coastguards and equipment.
Now, Coastguard Rescue 175 from Lee-on-Solent has rushed the casualty across the Solent to the trauma doctors at Southampton General Hospital. The helicopter landed on the beach at Shanklin to pick up a number of local paramedics to take them around the headland.
Coastguards are standing down and making their way back to Shanklin Esplanade. Meanwhile, Helimed 56 – the air ambulance – has already departed and is returning to base at Andover.
Police remain on scene in a bid to locate the pilot of a drone that has hampered efforts this afternoon.
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.
This drone pilot must be an absolute wan@er and thick as sh@!
Poor chap. I hope he’s all right. What is the distance he fell in English? I am not part of the European Community and neither is the country in which I live…
Did you not understand your maths lessons at school?
You’ll probably get the usual reply, “they were boring”.