Sunny spell saw Coast Guard record busiest weekend in 22 years

Last weekend was the busiest for the Irish Coast Guard in 22 years, with the last days of the heat wave seeing 53 search and rescue operations launched, ranging from swimmers in difficulty to missing children.

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday — the busiest since 1991 — 21 incidents were co-ordinated by the Dublin Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), 18 incidents by Valentia MRCC and 14 by Malin MRCC. These call-outs ranged from missing persons, swimmers in difficulty, vessels broken down, missing children, jetskis and speedboats operating in a hazardous way and urgent medical evacuations.

The Coast Guard helicopters alone were tasked 18 times over the weekend.