A DONEGAL lifeboat crew was forced to mount "Operation Free Willy" after a bridegroom-to-be suffered an unfortunate accident with the zip of his trousers.
The rescue took place on Arranmore Island after the groom, who had been celebrating his stag party with a large group of friends, became entangled in his zip in the men's room of a bar in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution station on Arranmore was contacted about the crisis at 8.20am and took the injured man, a Donegal native, by lifeboat to the coastal town of Burtonport, where an ambulance took him to Letterkenny general hospital.
RNLI spokesperson Nora Flanagan said it was one of the more unusual call-outs for the experienced crew, who did their best to comfort the man during the 20-minute journey to the mainland.
"It definitely left the highly experienced crew stumped and running for their first-aid books, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find a section on zipper entanglement," she said last night.
"Talk about the unkindest cut of all." :D :eek:
It is understood that the man has since been discharged from Letterkenny general hospital.
Earlier this month, the crew of the Arranmore lifeboat was involved in another dramatic rescue when the yacht of a disabled sailor capsized in heavy seas.
