Police probe how woman and girl (11) fell off Belfast ferry

THE circumstances around an incident in which a woman and an 11-year-old girl were rescued from Belfast Harbour after they fell from a ferry are still being established, police have said.

The woman and the girl were rescued by emergency response crews from the Stena Horizon and Stena Superfast VIII after apparently entering the water as one of the ferries, the Stena Horizon, approached Belfast Dock on Thursday night.

A police spokesperson said yesterday: “The full circumstances of the incident are still being established.”

In a statement on Thursday night, Stena Line said the two people had been plucked from the water in a ‘man overboard’ incident by rescue crews from two of its ferries.

“Stena Line can confirm that [the] incident occurred on the Stena Horizon ferry at approximately 6.45pm this evening on its approach to berth in Belfast Harbour,” a

‘Two persons were retrieved from the water and attended to by emergency crews’

spokesman said on Thursday night.

“Stena Line deployed emergency response crews from the Stena Horizon and Stena Superfast VIII which was in the vicinity at the time.

“Two persons were retrieved from the water and were attended to by local emergency service crews waiting on the dockside in Belfast.

“Stena Line has informed all relevant authorities of the incident and is currently assisting with the various investigations now under way.”

A spokesman from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it received a 999 call just before 7pm on Thursday following reports of two people in the water in Belfast Harbour.

Both the woman and child were out of the water prior to the ambulance crew’s arrival.

“NIAS despatched two Rapid Response Paramedics, two Emergency Crews and three HART Officers to the incident,” a spokesman said.

Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, the girl was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Belfast and the woman to the Royal Victoria Hospital’s emergency department.