A search is expected to resume on Monday for a person reported to have been seen falling from a cliff in Co Clare this afternoon.
Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted and coordinated the multi-agency search operation after the alarm was raised at around 3.00pm.
The response involved members of the Doolin unit of the Coast Guard, the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115, the National Ambulance Service, An Garda Síochána and the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat.
Weather and sea conditions in the area were reported to be very poor with low visibility and sea swells of up to 5 metres. Soon after arriving at the scene the Aran Islands lifeboat was stood down and returned to base while Rescue 115 was retasked to incident on Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands.
Members of the Doolin Coast Guard unit conducted a cliff-top search in an effort to locate the casualty believed to be at the base of 702ft cliffs.
As conditions were not safe enough to conduct a more detailed search or effect a recovery operation, the effort was stood down at around 4.30pm but is expected to resume in the morning.
It’s also believed that divers from the Garda Water Unit will be requested to assist with the recovery operation.
The members of the Doolin unit who took part in today’s effort are part of a small team put together until an appointment process to permanently restoring the Coast Guard Unit in the Doolin area has been completed.
