Paramedics involved in multi-agency rescue in Porthleven

Paramedics from Cornwall Air Ambulance were part of a multi-agency response that helped rescue three teenagers who fell from a cliff in Porthleven on Saturday 4 May.

The incident happened just before midnight. Critical care paramedic Stuart Croft was flown to the scene in the HM Coastguard helicopter, while critical care paramedic Thomas Hennessy Jones attended in the charity’s rapid response vehicle.

Alongside colleagues from South Western Ambulance Service and Coastguard Rescue Officers, the paramedics were airlifted to the beach where they located the three men. Two had suffered critical injuries in the fall and the third sustained serious injuries after falling up to 100ft.

Battling in the dark, against an incoming tide, the paramedics provided emergency care, helping to stabilise the patients, before they were transferred to the helicopter and airlifted to Derriford Hospital.

Thomas said: “This was a difficult mission, we had to reach the casualties with very little light and with the tide coming in. All the emergency services came together to co-ordinate the rescue and make sure the teenagers were safely transferred from the beach to the helicopter and onwards to hospital for urgent medical care.”

Great team work from everyone involved, including Porthleven, Mullion and Penzance Coastguard Rescue teams, Lizard RNLI, SWASFT paramedics, Omega Medical and the crew on board the HM Coastguard helicopter.