Two women hospitalised after head-on car crash in West Cork
Was An Firefighter Duty The Off On First The Scene
A woman was airlifted to Cork University Hospital following a head-on car crash in West Cork today.
A second woman was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Two cars – a Volkswagen Golf and a BMW – were involved in the head-on collision in a 40km zone near the hospital in Castletownbere on the R572 at Derrymihin West at around 1.40pm.
The women had to be cut out of their respective vehicles by the fire service.
Both women were conscious and were stable when leaving the scene. Their injuries are not currently thought to be life-threatening.
No one else was injured in the crash.
An off-duty firefighter with paramedic training first responded at the scene when they came upon the crash at the end of their lunch break. An ambulance from the nearby hospital then arrived within minutes.
The main access roads to the town were closed while emergency services responded to the crash causing a backlog of traffic.
One lane of the road is now reopening with traffic management in place and a stop-and-go system.
It is hoped that the road will be fully reopened in the next hour with all oil and debris removed from the scene.
One car has been recovered by the N71 breakdown and recovery service.