Local heroes avert lilo tragedy at sea
TWO four-year-old twins who were swept out to sea on lilos and four men who attempted to rescue them were recovering from their ordeal last night thanks to local rescuers who swung into action to save them.
The drama unfolded around 8.20pm on Monday after the local lifeguard went off duty as usual at 7pm.
The terrified twins were floating perilously out to sea towards the main shipping channel of the harbour which is about 30 or 40 feet deep, local father-of-three John Byrne said.
Mr Byrne (45, inset), from Duncannon, Co Wexford, was at Duncannon Beach with his wife Sabrina and their young children when they spotted the toddlers drifting out to sea on an air mattress.
Ms Byrne rang the Irish Coast Guard while another local woman alerted the local Fethard RNLI. “The wind caught them and before they knew it they were out about 400 metres from shore,” Mr Byrne told the Irish Independent last night.
Four men, including the girls’ father, frantically swam out to reach them. The father took one of his daughters off the mattress and headed back to shore with her while a local windsurfer who managed to reach the air mattress held onto the other girl as another swimmer went out to help until local RNLI volunteer Hugh Burke reached them and brought them to shore.
Meanwhile, the father and daughter both took in water and were suffering from hypothermia on the way back to shore when another local swimmer reached them. The swimmer brought the girl back to shore but got into trouble himself when he returned to the water to rescue the father. Mr Byrne, meanwhile, swam out and managed to rescue both the father and the other swimmer. At the same time, a kayaker managed to rescue another swimmer who entered the water to help but also got into difficulty.
Mr Byrne said the terrifying ordeal took place in the space of just 10 minutes. “These are big, fit guys and they just got caught,” he said. “But every person who went out (to rescue the girls) was at risk,” he said.
The Dunmore East Coast Guard and RNLI treated the casualties at the scene before they were brought to hospital for treatment.
But if it wasn’t for the efforts of Mr Byrne and the other locals, the outcome would have been very different, Mr Burke said. “John definitely saved two lives last night,” he said, adding air mattresses and other inflatables are meant for pools and should never be used at the seaside or open water.