A MAN HAS been airlifted to hospital after he was injured in a fall while hiking in North Clare this afternoon. 

The alarm was raised at around 1.30pm when the National Ambulance Service received a report that a person had fallen on the loop trail on Gleninagh Mountain at the very northern end of The Burren.

The man in his 60s, who had been hiking with others, is understood to have suffered a lower leg injury in the incident.

Once alerted, the National Ambulance Service requested assistance from the Irish Coast Guard. The Galway Mountain Rescue Team (GMRT) was also tasked to assist in the operation.

GMRT volunteers made their way to the scene and soon located the casualty. After assessing the injured man, it was decided that the best way to evacuate him from the scene was by helicopter.

The Irish Coast Guard was requested to task the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter. Rescue 115 was already at University Hospital Galway after completing a medical evacuation from Inishmaan in the Aran Islands. The helicopter was able to make its way the 20km across Galway Bay to the scene in a matter of minutes.

Galway Mountain Rescue Team volunteers had administered first aid to the injured man and prepared him for transportation to hospital. Rescue 115 airlifted the casualty to University Hospital Galway in less than 10 minutes. The same journey by road would have taken up to 90 minutes.

The man is understood to have sustained a fracture to his lower leg.