Cup match stopped as helicopter lands on pitch after injured man, 21, rescued after rock slip

A soccer match was halted after a helicopter landed on the pitch, moments after it rescued an injured man following a rock slip.

Almost a dozen courageous lifeboat volunteers additionally got here to the stricken man’s help after he injured his ankle on rocks north of Hartley Bay, close to Seaton Sluice in Northumberland.

After the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter winched him to security, it landed on a close-by pitch throughout Seaton Sluice FC’s cup conflict with North Shields Community Christians FC.

The match was paused as the injured man was transferred into an ambulance and brought to hospital.

He’d tried to climb up a cliff face. However, realising the hazard he circled – solely to slip as he returned to the cliff.

“Although in good spirits, the casualty was in a difficult location: on the backside of a 40ft cliff and 500 metres from the closest entry steps throughout very slippery rocks,” acknowledged a Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade spokesperson.

“Sea situations additionally meant that an extraction by Lifeboat for a casualty in a stretcher can be very troublesome to finish.”

The injured man had been on the rocks for nearly two hours when the helicopter – dispatched from Prestwick Airport – arrived at 2.15pm on Saturday, earlier than flying onto the pitch.

Paramedics additionally attended the incident, which was the fortieth lifeboat callout to date this 12 months.

“Although the staff prepare commonly for working with helicopters, it’s comparatively uncommon that we work alongside one on an incident on the coast, and in the present day concerned utilizing numerous abilities together with deploying a smoke flare to assist the helicopter test wind route and pace, and likewise manning a hi-line through the winching course of,” added the spokesperson.

“We additionally want to thank the members of Seaton Sluice Football Club and North Shields Community Christians Football Club who paused their cup match to permit the helicopter to land and switch the casualty to the ambulance.”