Drama at sea as 15 youngsters rescued

FIFTEEN young people were rescued from the sea following an emergency on the north west coast yesterday.

The incident happened at Magheraroarty Beach in west Donegal yesterday afternoon.

Ten casualties were transported to Letterkenny University Hospital via the Rescue 118 helicopter and another was taken by ambulance, while four were treated at the scene.

The alarm was raised after the group, who are understood to be students attending a local Gaeltacht college, got into difficulty in the water after 4pm on Tuesday.

The Coast Guard was tasked to the scene while sailors in a nearby fishing boat brought some of the young people on board their vessel. Others managed to swim to the shore.

One of the group was believed to have been in the water for a considerable length of time. Ten were brought onto the Rescue 118 helicopter for transfer to Letterkenny University Hospital. The extent of injuries is not yet known, but sources say that hypothermia may be an issue in one incident.

Local Councillor Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig was at the scene as the rescue operation was ending.

He praised the local rescue effort and the emergency services, saying: ‘I want to highly praise the local fishing community who went out and took the students onto the boat, and also the Coast Guard, the ambulances and helicopter crew.

‘The community as a whole deserves credit for saving lives, because that’s exactly what they did today.’