Men forced to swim 100m across the River Shannon as boat collides with bridge

Three men were forced to abandon their lake boat and jump into the River Shannon after they collided with a bridge in Co Clare this afternoon.

The alarm was raised at around 3.50pm when watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia island in Kerry received a report that a 19-foot lake boat had collided with the bridge that connects Killaloe, Co Clare with Ballina in Tipperary.