A search operation was mounted in East Clare this afternoon after it was reported that a swimmer could be missing on Lough Derg.
The alarm was raised at around 2.00pm when the Irish Coast Guard received a report of a person missing in the Mountshannon area.
It’s understood that a member of the public alerted emergency services after finding clothing and personal belongings near the shore in the village. Watch officers at the Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry promptly mounted a search operation and alerted other agencies.
The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard; National Ambulance Service and Gardaí were all alerted while the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter was also tasked to the scene.
Killaloe Coast Guard launched one boat from their base at Pier Head while a second smaller boat was transported by road to the area. A land team was also mobilised to Mountshannon to assist on shore.
It was later established that a man, fitting the description of the missing swimmer, was observed on Holy Island (Inis Cealtra) almost two kilometres southeast of Mounthshannon. When it was confirmed that this was the missing man and he wasn’t in any danger, Rescue 115 was stood down.
The Killaloe Coast Guard boat crew continued to the scene and after volunteers spoke with the man, they conveyed him by boat back to Mountshannon where he was met by Gardaí.
The incident is being treated as a ‘false alarm with good intent.’
