Man trapped in sea cave in Co Mayo rescued

Emergency personnel have freed a guy who had been trapped in a sea cave overnight in Co. Mayo.

The 40-year-old was swept into the area on Saturday night at high tide and spent nearly 22 hours on a ledge in the cave at Downpatrick Head.

A major search and rescue effort has been in progress since the alarm was raised on Saturday just before 6 o’clock.

The man was pulled up the cliff by rescue workers on Sunday and then transported by aircraft to Sligo General Hospital at around 4.08 p.m.

It is believed that the man and a lady were swept into the cave when the tide surged in.

A kayaker managed to bring the woman to safety soon afterward, but the man remained on a ledge in the cave overnight until now.

Balyglass RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer, Agatha Hurst, told Newstalk everyone is delighted he is safe.

“We are absolutely ecstatic, there was a huge big sigh of relief that passed through the crowd fairly quickly when the good news started to come through that he had been rescued.

“Everybody’s just so happy that he was brought to safety, and all the different agencies that came together were just phenomenal.”

%d bloggers like this: