BEACH RESCUE DRAMA
Four young girls caught out by incoming Fane river at Blackrock
A DRAMATIC AIR RESCUE was launched in Blackrock yesterday (Monday) after four 12-year-old girls were caught out by the rapid tide coming onto shore.
The popular beach was thronged with people enjoying the heatwave, when just after 3.30pm the emergency developed.
‘A woman visiting the beach became separated from her daughter and three young friends for a time and rightly became concerned for their safety, ‘ said James Larkin, Officer in Charge at Greenore Coastguard.
He told the Argus that concerns emerged after the young girls were caught ‘on the other side of the river’ which runs out onto the beach, and were in immediate danger of becoming trapped by the incoming tide.
Thanks to the quick thinking of a local man, the alarm was raised and the coastguard scrambled their rescue helicopter from Dublin.
‘ The girls were quickly located from the air and Dublin Region SAR helicopter, (Rescue 116) set down on the sand banks where the girls were found, took them on board and flew them back to the beach where coastguard personnel ensured they were not suffering any ill effects,’ said James. ‘One casualty became unwell during the incident but other than that all four were cold but happy to be safe.’
He added: ‘We would like to thank all those involved in resolving this incident, particularly the person that made the timely 999/112 call and would encourage anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to make that call and be satisfied that you have done all you can to prevent a more serious incident developing.’