Rescue operation stood down after trapped teen scales cliff

A SEARCH and rescue operation was mounted on Sunday night for a teenager who became trapped on a cliff after trying to walk home along the shore.

The alarm was raised at 8.49pm when emergency services received a call from a distressed woman who claimed her 16-year-old son had called her on his mobile phone saying he was stuck on a cliff.

The incident occurred on the cliffs between Carrigaholt and Doonaha on the Loophead peninsula in west Clare. It is believed the teenager had tried to make his way from Carrigaholt to Doonaha by the shore.

While he set off when the tide was receding, the teenager got into difficulty on cliffs close to Doonaha where he was unable to pass because of the water.

He called his mother and said he was trapped on a cliff with water around him. The frantic mother called the 999/112 emergency centre who patched her through to the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre at Valentia Island, Co Kerry.

When the woman tried to call her son back, there was no answer, and she called emergency services again. The boy’s father also set off in search of him.

The Kilrush RNLI lifeboat was scrambled while the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter was also sent to assist in the rescue.

The Kilkee Coast Guard unit was also alerted and teams were en route to the scene by air, road and sea when the operation was stood down.

Shortly after 9pm, the boy’s mother contacted the Coast Guard and advised them that the teenager had managed to scale the cliff to safety and was had been located by his father.