Garda helicopter saves 5 women from cliff fall

Five young women who went missing one night near the Dublin coast narrowly escaped with their lives when a Garda helicopter alerted them to a “sheer drop” immediately ahead of them.

In a case highlighted in the Garda Siochana Annual Report 2014, the Air Support Unit was scrambled last November by Command and Control — the 999 dispatch system — to aid in the search of five missing women, aged in their late teens to early 20s.

They had left the car park at Deerpark Golf Club before 10pm on foot and “lost their bearings” on a steep hill between Howth and the Golf Club. The Garda helicopter was deployed at 11.50pm and searched the area.

Using thermal image cameras and night vision goggles the crew located the women just after midnight when they were in danger of walking to their death.

“There was a sheer drop immediately ahead of them,” the annual report said.

“The crew used the on-board ‘skyshout’ loud hailer system to tell them to stop .”

The helicopter relayed information to ground units who located them and guided them to safety.