Boy in critical condition after fall from horse in Co Cork
By Eoin English
A teenage boy is fighting for his life after he was thrown from a horse in to a swollen river on the outskirts of Cork city this evening.
The alarm was raised around 6.30pm after the incident in the Glashaboy stream behind the former John Barleycorn restaurant in Glanmire.
It is believed the boy and at least two friends from the Mayfield area on the northside of the city were riding horses along an unprotected river bank when his animal bucked, throwing him in to the water.
Locals said the incident occurred where two channels of water meet and where currents are treacherous and strong.
Emergency services, including Glanmire gardai and Cork city and Midleton fire brigades, rushed to the scene.
Light was fading, access to the site was difficult and the search conditions were described as extremely testing.
Up to six swift water rescue technicians from the city fire brigade entered the freezing water and began a desperate search for the boy in the area where he was last seen.
A Coast Guard helicopter with heat-seeking equipment was also tasked.
However, the fire fighters, who were close to exhaustion and working under powerful search lamps, finally managed to locate the boy.
He was found close to where he had been last seen.
But he had been submerged in about 15 feet of water for up to 40 minutes.
The fire fighters and Dr Hugh Doran administered life support at the riverbank before the boy was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.
Advanced life support was administered throughout the journey to hospital.
The boy's condition has been described as critical.
