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Coast Guard rescue fisherman in Killaloe

File Photo: © Pat Flynn

A lone fisherman was rescued after his boat became trapped beneath a bridge in Co Clare this afternoon.

The fishing boat became wedged in the third arch of the bridge between Killaloe Co Clare and Ballina in Tipperary.

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The alarm was raised shortly before 3.00pm when the Irish Coast Guard received a report of a boat in difficulty on the River Shannon at Killaloe.

The fishing vessel is understood to have lost power and was left drifting on the river for a time before getting caught under the bridge.

The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard and local Gardaí responded to the incident.

Coast Guard volunteers successfully evacuated the fisherman from the boat which was kept wedged beneath the arch by the flow of the river.

The Coast Guard boat crew manoeuvred into position south of the bridge and travelling against the strong current got in close to the trapped vessel. One rescuer helped the man up onto a metal gantry attached to the bridge and then transferred him to the safety of the rescue boat.

The man was taken ashore and found to have been shaken but otherwise unharmed. Gardaí transported the man home while the Coast Guard used two boats to place a tow on the stricken vessel and dislodge it from the bridge.

A Coast Guard spokesperson said: “We would encourage all boat users to check the weather before launching their vessel and take into consideration the strong currents at Killaloe Bridge.”

The rescue operation was coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.

The bridge at Killaloe/Ballina where the incident occurred – Photo: © Pat Flynn
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