Tragic teenage girl Aoife Winterlich from Walkinstown had actually reached the rescue helicopter door, before she fell 45m back into the sea, an Air Accident and Investigation Unit Ireland (AAIU) report has revealed.
Aoife was on a weekend scouting trip on December 6, 2015 when the incident occurred. Aoife, from Walkinstown in Dublin, was walking along the coast at Hook Head, Co Wexford. On that day, four people were swept into the sea during a heavy swell in the aftermath of Storm Desmond. The Irish coastguard center in Dublin got a call at 2.04pm, shortly after the incident, revealing that some kids were in the water. The crew arrived at the scene at 2.13pm. Two of the four people were able to reach the shore, while remaining two—Aoife and a male teen—could not swim and were eventually lifted by the Irish Coast Guard Waterford-based helicopter. Unfortunately, Aoife fell into the sea when rescuers were trying to bring her onboard the chopper. Rescuers immediately recovered her from the sea. She was then admitted to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, where doctors tried their best to save her life. She spent four days in the hospital, but eventually lost the battle of her life and died on December 10, 2015.
According to the Irish Independent, the male teen who was safely rescued told investigators that Aoife had become unresponsive shortly after they entered the water.
Aoife had “reached the door of the helicopter” and was “about to be recovered into the cabin” when she “slipped through the Hypothermic Rescue Strop and fell approximately 45 ft into the water,” the AAIU report into her death say.
The report describes the desperate attempts made by rescue staff to save Aoife. It says the winchman had decided to lift Aoife and the second teen out of the water at the same time.
“The winchman was also concerned that if he winched one casualty to the helicopter, that the other would not be able to remain afloat until he returned,” the report stated.
“In the circumstances of this particular rescue, there is nothing to suggest that the winchman’s decision-making was anything other than sound,” the report states.
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