Emergency services take distressed man off cliff

A major multi-agency search and rescue operation was mounted yesterday after a man was reported to be in a distressed state on a cliff in Co Clare.

The alarm was raised at around 1.15pm following an emergency call. A call reported that a man, believed to be from Cork, had travelled to the Loop Head area of Clare and was in a distressed state.

The Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard was sent to the scene while the Shannon-based helicopter, Rescue 115, was

already in the air in the Foynes area and was able to respond quickly.

The Kilrush and Fenit RNLI lifeboat’s along with the Waterford based helicopter, Rescue 117, were also sent to the area to assist.

At around 2.15pm, the crew of Rescue 115 located the man at Oughtard near Cross and guided search teams to the area.

Rescue teams found the man apparently sleeping close to the cliff and led him to safety. The man was airlifted to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

Not long afterwards, the Coast Guard got a report of three swimmers in difficulty in Kilkee Bay in Co Clare.

The local unit of the Coast Guard raced to the scene.

A message was transmitted on the marine VHF emergency channel requesting any boat users to look out for the swimmers.

Volunteer search teams located a total of five people who said they were alright and able to make it ashore safely.

Earlier in the day, the RNLI went to assistance of eight people after their boat ran aground on Lough Derg close to the Clare shore.