By Cara Sulieman
A WOMAN had to be rescued by firefighters after she plunged 10 feet down an embankment in her WHEELCHAIR today.
The 60-year-old had been travelling along a path at the side of Linlithgow Loch in her electric wheelchair when she crashed down the embankment towards the water.
Because she was still strapped into her wheelchair, she didn’t fall out and instead crashed down attached to the chair.
She landed just five meters away from the water’s edge across the loch from historic Linlithgow Palace.
A carer who was with her at the time called for an ambulance for help after the accident in Linlithgow just before 1pm.
But they in turn had to call out Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service who winched the woman to safety before she was taken to hospital for a check up.
“No suggestion of foul play”
Firefighters had to release her from the chair before winching her back up to the path in a basket stretcher.
The operation that took an hour and a half and she was taken to St John’s Hospital in Livingston for a check up around 2.30pm.
Despite her tumble, the woman was still conscious and only complaining of a sore shoulder when she was rescued.
But ambulance staff took her hospital for x-rays to make sure there was no damage to her spine during the fall.
Last night (Mon) officers from Lothian and Borders Police were waiting to speak to the woman to find out what happened, but stressed there was “no suggestion of foul play”.
The path around the loch is quite bumpy in places and it has been suggested that this might the reason for the woman’s tumble.
But last night (Mon) it was still unclear exactly what happened.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “A 60-year-old woman fell around 10 feet from a path around Linlithgow Loch yesterday and landed about five meters from the water’s edge.
“Fire crew used winches and a basket stretcher to bring her to safety before she was taken to St John’s Hospital in Livingston for treatment.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service added: “The woman in her 60s was taken to St John’s Hospital for treatment to suspected shoulder and spinal injuries.”
