MP Brendan O'Hara sees importance of Coastguard firsthand
MP Brendan O’Hara saw firsthand the importance of the Coastguard during what was supposed to be a routine visit to Mull last week.
On Tuesday August 11, O’Hara took the ferry to Mull to meet with the Coastguard teams from Craignure and Tobermory, and learn about their work.
Argyll’s massive coastline coverage means it has the highest concentration of Coastguard teams in the UK, and for good reason.
During a chat with the team, they suddenly sprung into action after receiving a shout.
A man had severely injured his leg on a yacht in Tobermory Bay, and was enroute to be airlifted off the island.
With Mull’s helipad currently undergoing repairs, the Coastguard had to ready Glenforsa Airstrip for the extraction, clearing away any debris and transferring the casualty to the helimed before it took off for a mainland hospital.
O’Hara said: "It was an honour and a privilege for me to meet up with and witness first-hand, the work of our Coastguard Rescue Officers while on Mull last week.
"Until I spent time with the teams from Craignure and Tobermory, I don’t think I fully appreciated the depth and the breadth of what they did, and the levels to which they are trained.
"Whether it’s searching for missing persons, rescuing fallen climbers or as in this case retrieving an injured seafarer and arranging to have them helicoptered off the island to hospital, the Coastguard Rescue Service are an absolutely essential part of our emergency services, and our island and coastal communities are extremely lucky to have them.
"With an aggregated coastline longer than that of France, my Argyll, Bute & South Lochaber constituency has more Coastguard stations than anywhere else in the UK and recently in a debate at Westminster I thanked each of them for everything they do, and following my afternoon with the teams on Mull, I want to reiterate my sincere thanks."
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