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Driver saved in car cliff plunge drama
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| SAFETY FIRST: The driver of the Vauxhall Zafira is strapped to a stretcher before being airlifted to hospital. Pictures: Finnbarr Webster |
A MAN was airlifted to hospital after his car plunged 80ft over a cliff at Bowleaze Coveway in Weymouth.
The man was freed from the vehicle by firefighters and winched to safety by the coastguard helicopter in a joint rescue operation.
He was flown to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester with head injuries and police are appealing for witnesses.
Emergency services were called to the scene at Furzy Cliff shortly before 10pm last night.
The blue Vauxhall Zafira was found on a ledge
80ft down the 45 degree embankment and around 80ft from the beach.
Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said firemen and coastguards stabilised the vehicle while three fire crews from Weymouth freed the man from the car.
He was eventually released through the passenger door of the vehicle after being trapped for around an hour.
The man, who was the only person in the car, was winched into the helicopter and taken
to Dorset County
Hospital with head injuries.
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| PLUCKED TO SAFETY: The driver is airlifted to hospital |
A Dorset Police spokesman said the man's injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
He said: "This was a good example of multi-agency working together on what could have been a tragic incident."
Emergency services personnel remained at the scene until shortly after midnight.
Police are urging anyone who saw the car prior to the incident to contact them on 01305 222222.
Elsewhere yesterday the coastguard rescue helicopter was tasked to trace a radio transmission which obliterated the emergency distress frequency across Dorset and Devon for several hours.
The signal was finally tracked to a vessel near Torquay early yesterday, and crew members were reminded to check their radio sets.
Coastguards from Swanage were alerted to reports of a yacht that had run aground at Kimmeridge Ledges, near Chapmans Pool, on Saturday afternoon.
The Moonglow, with three people on board, was undamaged and was refloated and continued towards Weymouth.
And the Lyme Regis RNLI inshore lifeboat joined the hunt for a missing man in Beer Head, Devon in a joint search operation with coastguards.
The vessel later returned to Lyme Regis following reports the man had been spotted inland.
8:18am Monday 24th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: JamesY, Dorchester on 12:07pm Mon 24 Mar 08
Didn't Clarkson advise anyone who found themselves in possession of a Zafira to take similar action ?
Bit of misplaced humour, glad the fellow will be ok.
Didn't Clarkson advise anyone who found themselves in possession of a Zafira to take similar action ?
Bit of misplaced humour, glad the fellow will be ok.
Posted by: clivemerritt, weymouth on 2:47pm Mon 24 Mar 08
i was on boleaze cove last night watching the rescue job from on top of the hill, let it be said in no way shape or form did that car plunge 80ft, the car was on the first ledge after the cliff edge/drop, had it fell 80ft the man would have suffered far more than a head injury, maybe its time newspapers started telling the truth instead of spicing up what was already a very serious incident to sell a newspaper, had he PLUNGED 80ft he'd be dead and the car would have probably blown up and there would have been nothing left of it, get a grip and tell stories how they happend ! pathetic
i was on boleaze cove last night watching the rescue job from on top of the hill, let it be said in no way shape or form did that car plunge 80ft, the car was on the first ledge after the cliff edge/drop, had it fell 80ft the man would have suffered far more than a head injury, maybe its time newspapers started telling the truth instead of spicing up what was already a very serious incident to sell a newspaper, had he PLUNGED 80ft he'd be dead and the car would have probably blown up and there would have been nothing left of it, get a grip and tell stories how they happend ! pathetic
Posted by: chantelle oswin, weymouth on 3:07pm Mon 24 Mar 08
yes clive u are right its nowhere near 80ft!it looks like he just slipped off and by way cars faced looks like went backwards,iam totally confused by how a car comes to even be on the grass bank that close to the edge?Glad hes ok though,was very dramatic incident indeed [bold]bold[/bold]
yes clive u are right its nowhere near 80ft!it looks like he just slipped off and by way cars faced looks like went backwards,iam totally confused by how a car comes to even be on the grass bank that close to the edge?Glad hes ok though,was very dramatic incident indeed
Posted by: pat, uk on 5:24pm Mon 24 Mar 08
I was also there, the car is around 80 ft from the edge of the cliff, where as the actual height fallen was probably around 30 ft, so the Echo were right. Clive just read it in his mind as an 80 ft sheer drop instead of as reported '80ft down the 45 degree embankment'
I was also there, the car is around 80 ft from the edge of the cliff, where as the actual height fallen was probably around 30 ft, so the Echo were right. Clive just read it in his mind as an 80 ft sheer drop instead of as reported '80ft down the 45 degree embankment'
Posted by: mandy, somerset on 9:27pm Mon 24 Mar 08
I was also there and agree that 80ft may be a slight exageration!still,go
od to see that the emergency services didn't waste time pondering on how the car got there or how far down it was and just got on with the job in hand.We overheard some onlookers today saying that it would teach the driver right for being where they shouldn't be,but Yeah it may seem a strange place for a car to end up but rightly or wrongly if it was your son or daughter im sure you would be glad that the emergency services are not so judging.
I was also there and agree that 80ft may be a slight exageration!still,go
od to see that the emergency services didn't waste time pondering on how the car got there or how far down it was and just got on with the job in hand.We overheard some onlookers today saying that it would teach the driver right for being where they shouldn't be,but Yeah it may seem a strange place for a car to end up but rightly or wrongly if it was your son or daughter im sure you would be glad that the emergency services are not so judging.
Posted by: maximus, Weymouth on 10:42pm Mon 24 Mar 08
There were more than 2 comments earlier, perhaps the deleted one hit a sore point at a certain newspaper's staff!
There were more than 2 comments earlier, perhaps the deleted one hit a sore point at a certain newspaper's staff!
Posted by: maximus, Weymouth on 10:42pm Mon 24 Mar 08
There were more than 2 comments earlier, perhaps the deleted one hit a sore point at a certain newspaper's staff!
There were more than 2 comments earlier, perhaps the deleted one hit a sore point at a certain newspaper's staff!
Posted by: pat, uk on 5:02pm Tue 25 Mar 08
Sometimes the system doesn't seem to load properly. Happened to me, I refreshed the page and they were all there.
Sometimes the system doesn't seem to load properly. Happened to me, I refreshed the page and they were all there.
Posted by: Polyvista, Preston on 11:13am Thu 27 Mar 08
No mention of the camping tent on the ledge below! The occupant could have been squashed!
No mention of the camping tent on the ledge below! The occupant could have been squashed!
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