Fire service personnel had to be called to free a young child who became trapped in a ‘claw machine’ in a Co Clare shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
Three units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Shannon station were mobilised to the Shannon Town Centre after controllers at the Munster Regional Communications Centre (Fire) in Limerick received a report of a child ‘trapped in the centre.’
The machine, in the Shannon Town Centre, allows users to insert money and manoeuvre a claw in an effort to ‘grab’ and claim a prize, in this case, a football.
The young child is believed to have climbed into the ‘Cosmic Crane’ machine, through a large slot from which the footballs are dispensed. The youngster then clambered up into the main chamber where the footballs are stored.
Staff at the shopping centre are understood to have raised the alarm at around 2.25pm.
Fire service personnel drilled a hole in a lock on the sliding door of the machine and released the child. The youngster was unharmed and didn’t appear to be distressed at any time. It’s understood he was only in the machine for about 15 minutes.
A spokesperson for Clare County Fire and Rescue Service confirmed: “Shannon Fire Brigade were mobilised at 2.26pm on Saturday 27th September to an incident at Shannon Town Centre.
The mobilisation message indicated that there was a child trapped in the centre. Three Units from Shannon Fire Brigade attended the scene.
Shannon Fire Brigade assisted the Management of the Town Centre in freeing the child. The incident was closed down at 14.56.”
Shannon Town Centre has been contacted for a comment.