Members of a north lifeboat crew were called to an injured woman only five minutes away from its base – at the same time they were being presented with a cheque for its work.
The volunteer crew of Oban RNLI Lifeboat, Mora Edith MacDonald and Oban Coastguard Rescue Team were called to a casualty on Kerrera shortly after lunchtime, on Tuesday. At the same time, as the call out, The Rotary Club of Oban were presenting a cheque for £270 to the volunteer crew.
The casualty, a woman, had fallen down a small cliff near Gylen Castle on the Isle of Kerrera – only a five minute shout away from Oban, and the lifeboat station. Her condition is described as stable.
A spokesman for the Oban RNLI crew said: “Shortly after 12.30pm on Tuesday April 2 the crew of the Oban Lifeboat were tasked to evacuate a casualty from the Isle of Kerrera who had fallen from a small cliff.
“With a full crew of six lifeboat crew and an additional five members of Oban Coastguard Rescue Team the lifeboat departed and made the short fifteen minute journey to the southern end of the Isle of Kerrera where the casualty was located.
“The lifeboat arrived on scene at 12:54pm and proceeded to begin transferring personnel to the shore using the lifeboat’s tender, known as an XP boat.”
Thanks to the lifeboat crew having medics amongst its volunteers, pain relief was given to the casualty who was then stabilised and secured in a stretcher before being transferred back to the lifeboat.
The spokesman continued: “Upon arrival back in Oban the casualty was handed over to the Scottish Ambulance Service at 2:15pm.”
Duty coxswain Finlo Cottier said: “This was an exceptionally good example of the lifeboat crew and the Coastguard Rescue Team working closely together to safely extract an injured casualty from a very awkward location.”
As the crew pulled back alongside the station, members of The Rotary Club of Oban had arrived to present a cheque to the station’s treasurer Andrew Mead.
The Rotary Club of Oban president Iain MacIntyre said: “We moved over to the side as the crew were coming alongside.
“We didn’t want to get in the way, and we knew that everything was under control with the crew and the patient.
“So we moved to the side, presented the cheque and had our photo taken. Just shows what good work the crew do.”