The search for a man seen entering the River Fergus in Ennis last week has continued today.
Divers from the Garda Water Unit arrived in Clare this morning to carry out further searches of the river.
On day eight of what is now a search and recovery operation, members of Clare Civil Defence were out at first light to carry out a low water search of a stretch of the River Fergus from Ennis town to the barrage at Clarecastle.
Civil Defence volunteers have undertaken searches every day since the initial operation was mounted around 11 o’clock last Thursday night when a male was observed entering the water at a bridge in the town centre.
After the alarm was raised a major multi-agency search and rescue operation was quickly mounted. That operation involved Gardaí; units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station; the National Ambulance Service; Clare Civil Defence; Doolin Coast Guard unit and Rescue 115.
Last Saturday, divers from the search and recovery units of Ennis, Burren, Kilkee and Lough Derg Sub Aqua Clubs, all affiliated with the Irish Underwater Council (Diving Ireland), joined the search. On Sunday, members of Killaloe/Ballina Search and Recovery Unit, which includes divers from Limerick Sub Aqua Club, assisted in the search.
Divers from the Garda Water Unit, based in Santry, Dublin and Athlone, Westmeath, arrived in Clare on Sunday and launched a boat to carry out a survey of the river before undertaking diving operations on Monday. Rescue 115 also carried out several searches over the past week.
Garda divers returned to Clare this morning and carried out further comprehensive searches of the river.
If search teams find no trace of the man before the weekend, divers from the various sub aqua clubs will rejoin the search on Saturday while it’s expected, additional Civil Defence resources will also be deployed.
