‘Reckless’ thrillseekers put their lives at risk
who flouted safety advice to pose beside massive waves whipped up by Storm Ophelia and climbed buildings during the violent winds have been urged not to jeopardise their lives for a selfie.
The shocking behaviour took place in coastal towns across Northern Ireland yesterday, flying in the face of a barrage of safety warnings.
Despite the Met Office issuing an amber weather warning for winds of up to 80mph, an onlooker revealed that several people, including parents with young children, had risked their lives to get near the massive waves near the pontoon at the breakwater in Warrenpoint.
“It was going on all day — there were around 10 to 15 people coming down each hour,” he said.
“It wasn’t just young ones — there were guys in their 30s carrying on and people coming down to take selfies.
“There were even mums bringing their kids down.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Crotlieve SDLP councillor Michael Carr condemned the behaviour and said he was “really surprised that people are ignoring all the warnings”.
“Despite the warnings, there have been people out swimming in the sea and windsurfing today,” he said.
“It’s irresponsible and reckless and people should heed the warnings as their lives could be put at risk.
“If people get into difficulty the emergency services have to attend, which prevents them from attending other incidents and also risks the lives of their crews. It’s irresponsible to say the least.”
Meanwhile, the PSNI also is- sued stern warnings over similar behaviour on the north coast and across mid and east Antrim.
Posting on social media, the PSNI North Coast Facebook page stated: “We have received reports of people attending the coast to ‘experience’ the current storm and take photos.
“We’ve also received reports of youths climbing buildings in Coleraine. This extremely danger THRILL-SEEKERS ous, you are putting yourselves and the emergency services in danger needlessly.”
In mid and east Antrim, the PSNI were forced to ask people taking photos at harbours and coastal areas to “please stay at home”.
Reacting to the behaviour, leisure safety manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents David Walker said: “We understand the interest and fascination of a storm, but we ask that people don’t jeopardise their safety for a selfie.
“Waters at the coast will be dangerously cold and very rough.
“In these conditions a person might, at best, survive a few minutes in the water.” before in the past where some of the recent winds in the UK were recorded as 80mph.
“Storms of such speeds are not uncommon for this time of year but what is unusual is that this ex-hurricane has come up from the Tropics.”
Met Eireann said Hurricane Debbie had followed a “similar route” making it very powerful.
A spokesperson for the organisation added: “The tail end of hurricanes often affect Britain and Ireland, but usually by the time they reach us they will have lost most of their power.
“Ophelia is unusual because hurricanes would usually come from America or the Caribbean, whereas this one is coming from the southwest, below the Azores.
“It’s worth noting that Hurricane Debbie also came from this unusual direction and source region.”
Ophelia reached the UK and Ireland exactly 30 years after the storm of 1987 killed 18 people in Great Britain.
The cyclone killed 18 people and caused an estimated £1 billion of damage when it struck the south of England three decades ago.