The injured man was airlifted to hospital by the Irish Coast Guard
A man was rushed to hospital yesterday after sustaining a suspected shark bite off the south coast of Ireland.
Ballycotton RNLI in Cork said it was called at 4.16pm yesterday by the Dublin Coast Guard to help a "five-metre pleasure craft" with five people on board.
The five people were located around four miles from Ram Head, in County Waterford.
The man was winched aboard the Irish Coast Guard's Rescue 117 helicopter and taken to Cork University Hospital.
The incident was a multiple agency effort, with the Irish Coast Guard's Rescue 117 helicopter, along with Ballycotton RNLI and Youghal RNLI.
Ballycotton RNLI's all-weather Trent-class lifeboat, The Austin Lidbury, launched at 4.30pm yesterday and reached the scene by around 5.10pm, aided by "calm sea conditions and good visibility".
By the time it arrived, however, Youghal RNLI and Rescue 117 were already at the vessel where the incident took place.
Both lifeboats remained on standby as the man was brought off the vessel.
Coxswain Eolan Walsh, who was on duty at the time, said: "This was a well-coordinated multi-agency response, with Ballycotton RNLI, Youghal RNLI and Rescue 117 working together to ensure that the casualty received urgent medical assistance as quickly and safely as possible.
"Incidents such as this are a reminder that conditions at sea can change quickly and that anyone heading offshore should make safety a priority.
"Ensure your vessel is suitable for the conditions, wear a properly-fitted lifejacket or personal flotation device, carry a reliable means of communication, and make sure someone ashore knows your plans."
This is not the first shark-related incident off the Irish coast.
In 2018, a man from Belfast was bitten while reeling in a blue shark during an angling trip, suffering serious injuries to his lower arm.
Blue sharks are long, slender creatures, identifiable by their dark blue backs, bright blue flanks and white underside.
They can grow to more than three metres in length and feed in open water on fish, squid, smaller sharks and even seabirds, often gathering in large groups typically segregated by size and sex.
Blue sharks are long-distance migrants and are typically found in Irish waters between June and October.
They are popular among recreational anglers practising catch-and-release fishing.
Blue sharks are considered one of Ireland's most prized sport fish.
Between 1970 and 2013, Ireland's Marine Sportfish Tagging Programme tagged more than 19,000 blue sharks off the Irish coast, accounting for nearly half of all fish tagged under the scheme.
The species is known for travelling vast distances, with one shark tagged in Irish waters recaptured off West Africa less than a year later, having covered an estimated 4,250 miles.
