Man airlifted to hospital after incident on Galway farm

Farmer pulled into haybob and ‘thrown out other side’ when attempting to clear blockage

An Irish Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to bring the man to hospital. File photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
An Irish Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to bring the man to hospital. File photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times

A man in his 60s was airlifted to hospital on Saturday after he became trapped in farm machinery in Co Galway.

The incident happened on Saturday morning at Looscaun near Woodford. The man is understood to have been pulled into a haybob which was connected to the rear of a tractor.

The circumstances of the incident are not entirely clear but it is understood the man was attempting to clear a blockage in the machine when he was dragged into it and “thrown out the other side”, according to one local man.

The alarm was raised and two ambulances responded to the incident.

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On arrival at the scene, paramedics quickly assessed the injured man and decided he needed to be airlifted to hospital.

The 70km journey from Looscaun to University Hospital Galway would have taken more than an hour by ambulance so the Irish Coast Guard helicopter was requested to assist.

The Shannon-based search-and-rescue helicopter, Rescue 115, was dispatched to the incident.

The injured man was initially airlifted to University Hospital Limerick for treatment but is understood to have been transferred to University Hospital Galway.

Details of the man’s condition were not available.