An Island teenager is tonight recovering in hospital after falling from a cliff edge and having to be rescued by Coastguard Rescue teams , ‘The Gazette’ can exclusively reveal.
HM Coastguard Rescue Teams from The Needles and Ventnor mounted a dramatic cliff top rescue operation shortly after 7pm this evening, after the 18-year-old girl from Chale fell from Atherfield Point while looking for her lost cat, that is believed to have been missing since Sunday.
It took 16 rescuers over two hours to safely recover the injured teen using ropes and a stretcher. The girl suffered severe bruising to her back and a gash to her upper leg.
The shaken teenager was treated at the scene by an Emergency Response Paramedic, who had to be lowered down from the cliff top to treat the injured youngster. The now-rescued teen was transfered by road ambulance to St Mary’s Hospital in Newport, where she is tonight recovering from her ordeal.
In a twist of fate, the cat was safely reunited with her owner.
A spokeswomen for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) took this opportunity to remind residents about the dangers that cliff edges can pose and how quickly situations can develop. She added: “On this occasion, the rescue operation was a success thanks to the skill of the Coastguard Rescue Teams”.
“This woman was incredibly lucky to be rescued with relatively minor injuries. We know it’s worrying when pets go missing but cliffs are dangerous places, particularly in the dark. If you think your pet is on the wrong side of a cliff please don’t attempt to rescue them yourself or you too could find yourself in a precarious position on a cliff ledge.”
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