Four people were rescued from rocks off of the coast of Co Wicklow on Sunday afternoon.
Two young girls in an inflatable dinghy were pulled out to sea at Silver Strand beach about 4.5km south of Wicklow town. Two men went to their rescue and all four ended up stranded on nearby rocks from which they were rescued by a Wicklow lifeboat.
Following examination by paramedics it was decided the two girls should go to hospital. They were taken by Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 116 to Dublin and are now in Temple St Children’s hospital.
On its Facebook page Rescue 116 said that earlier on Sunday afternoon it had been called to a situation just south of Wicklow Head. “Wicklow RNLI were already on scene with both their Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) & All Weather Lifeboat (ALB). 116 remained overhead whilst the ILB transferred 4 casualties to the ALB.”
The helicopter crew were asked “to lower our winchman/ paramedic onto the ALB to assist with assessing the casualties”.
They decide that the two girls should be airlifted to Dublin and they were winced on board the helicopter.
It continued;“116 lifted both casualties & our winchman for onwards transfer to Dublin. Our thanks to all involved and the supremely rapid intervention of the Wicklow RNLI crews.”
It also repeated that “inflatable toys do not belong anywhere near the sea”.
