Aith lifeboat scrambled in fog
Shetland Times
Thick weekend fog resulted in a lifeboat callout on Saturday after the coastguard helicopter was unable to get through.
The crew of the Aith lifeboat was scrambled to Vaila for a medical evacuation.
With the island fog-bound, and so inaccessible by rescue helicopter, the volunteers were called on to help transfer a 74-year-old – who had sustained a suspected hip injury – into the care of waiting ambulance staff in Walls.
The call for assistance came at 10pm, with the Charles Lidbury heading around the West Side through poor visibility to reach the island.
Four members of the lifeboat crew with RNLI casualty care training were put ashore to help transfer the patient to the island’s pier.
The casualty was handed over to the waiting ambulance in Walls shortly after 1am and the lifeboat then made her way back to base.
Aith lifeboat coxswain, John Robertson, said: “We were pleased to be able to help in this situation where, due to weather conditions, the island was not accessible by any other means.
“Lifeboat volunteers proved their worth and did a professional job through the night in caring for the casualty, and evacuating them as swiftly and as safely as possible into the care of ambulance colleagues.”
