Firefighters, paramedics, doctors, police officers, HM Coastguard and an air ambulance crew worked to rescue a man who was injured after falling around 10 metres (30ft) onto a railway track in East Lothian yesterday.
The incident – which took place around 1pm at Fenton Barns near North Berwick – involved firefighters, paramedics, doctors, police officers, HM Coastguard and an air ambulance crew.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews from North Berwick and East Linton fire stations were mobilised along with SFRS line rescue teams based at Newcraighall and Tollcross in Edinburgh.
Group Manager Andy Girrity, the incident commander, said: “Our crews arrived to find a man lying on the track having fallen approximately 30ft.
“They immediately requested all traffic was stopped on that section of railway and our specialist rope rescue teams descended to where the casualty was located to provide emergency trauma care.
“A member of the coastguard made his way down to assist the firefighters and paramedics, who had made their way up the track on foot. Together the team managed to stabilise the man.
“We identified a train that had stopped nearby as being the quickest and safest way of moving the casualty several hundred metres to a waiting 4×4 ambulance vehicle.
“He was then assessed by emergency response doctors before being taken to the landing site of the air ambulance and flown to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
“This was a complex rescue operation that required the specialist skills of emergency responders from each of the services, who worked extremely closely to stabilise the casualty and get him to hospital.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
