Man airlifted to hospital following shark bite

A man is being treated in hospital after being bitten by a shark while fishing near Ardmore, County Waterford.

The Coast Guard had been alerted to the incident on board a small boat around 4 pm yesterday. The Coast Guard confirmed that the man had a leg injury from a shark bite.

The incident prompted a large response by multiple agencies, including the Ballycotton RNLI, Dublin Coast Guard and Youghal RNLI.

Ballycotton RNLI’s all-weather Trent-class lifeboat was launched around 4.30 pm and got to the scene around 5 pm. The man was airlifted by the Coast Guard’s Rescue 117 Helicopter and transferred to Cork University Hospital for emergency treatment.

A spokesperson from the Coast Guard said: “The Coast Guard’s Waterford-based helicopter, Rescue 117, was tasked to the scene, as well as the Ballycotton RNLI all-weather lifeboat and the Youghal RNLI inshore lifeboat.”

“The man was winched on board Rescue 117 and taken to Cork University Hospital and handed over into the care of the HSE.”

“He’s still in hospital.”