A man was airlifted to hospital with suspected head, back and pelvic injuries after an incident near Southwold.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, suffered 'severe injuries' after falling from a cliff in Easton Bavents.
Emergency services, including two coastguard rescue teams from HM Coastguard Lowestoft and Southwold, Suffolk Police, the East of England Ambulance Service, Southwold lifeboat crew members, the HM Coastguard Happisburgh and Mundesley cliff rescue team and the coastguard rescue helicopter were all involved in the rescue operation last night (Monday).
A team of nine coastguard rescue officers from HM Coastguard Lowestoft and Southwold were first on the scene at Easton Bavents about 7.10pm last night.
They were alerted following reports that a man 'had fallen from the cliff, north of Southwold Pier' and had suffered 'severe injuries,' according to a spokesman for the coastguards.
'On arriving at the scene the team met up with the casualty and started to administer first aid,' the spokesman said. 'The casualty was located at the bottom of the cliff and was suffering with significant injuries.'
With 10 officers from the Happisburgh and Mundesley coastguard cliff rescue team alerted to assist with a cliff rescue, RNLI Southwold Lifeboat was called to assist with 'shore lighting and possible extraction from the beach.'
A spokesman for the RNLI Southwold lifeboat station said they assisted the coastguards in 'stabilising the casualty' and 'possible evacuation by lifeboat as the tide was rising.'
As the man was assessed and treated at the scene by paramedics, the coastguard rescue helicopter 163 attended from Lydd in Kent 'due to the location of the casualty and his condition.'
The helicopter managed to land on the beach, and so the lifeboat crew did not need to transport the man. But with the help of the ambulance service, Southwold Lifeboat crew members and the coastguard teams, the man was taken to the coastguard helicopter and airlifted to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for treatment.
The coastguard spokesman added: 'With the tide coming in, we could not get back on the walkway to the cliff access point and so the coastguards from Happisburgh and Mundesley, and Lowestoft and Southwold, then helped to lift the paramedics and coastguard personnel up the cliff safely.'
A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: 'At approximately 7.20pm yesterday we received a call to reports of a man who had fallen from a cliff near Southwold. We swiftly dispatched a community first responder (CFR), ambulance crew, ambulance officer and the hazardous area response team (HART). At the scene our staff, in co-ordination with the coastguards, worked to safely remove the man and his rescuers from the incident site.
'The man, believed to be in his 20s, was treated for a head injury and back pains before being airlifted to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital by the coastguard helicopter.'
The lifeboat spokesman added that this incident was a 'well executed, multi agency call with a successful outcome.'
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