A kayaker has been brought to safety while a second managed to make their own way ashore after and an incident in Co Clare this afternoon.
The pair had been kayaking at Ballyalla Lake on the outskirts of Ennis at around 1.00pm when they got into difficulty. It’s understood they had entered a section of the River Fergus, into which the lake flows, when got into trouble. It’s believed to got caught up in briars in the fast-flowing channel.
One of the women had a mobile phone with her and called for assistance. The second kayaker is understood to have been able to climb onto the riverbank to safety.
Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted a multi-agency rescue operation after the alarm was raised.
The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was tasked to the scene along with Clare Civil Defence, National Ambulance Service and An Garda Síochána.
The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was also requested to assist in the operation.
Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station also responded to the emergency call and reached the scene quickly.
Fire service personnel, specially trained in swift-water rescue, entered the river and quickly reached the stranded kayaker. They transferred her to a rescue raft and floated her downriver to a nearby bridge from where the woman was brought safely ashore.
The water was flowing too quickly for fire crews to taken to woman upriver to the slipway at the lake.
Once it was confirmed that the kayakers were safe and well, Rescue 115 and the other responding agencies were stood down.
