Water safety stressed after rescues off west Cork

The Irish Coast Guard has issued a warning about water safety, following two separate incidents in west Cork this afternoon in which six people were swept out to sea.

Four of the six were rescued, while the other two managed to make their way ashore around a kilometre from where they got into difficulty.

The first incident occurred just after 2pm. Emergency services received multiple calls when four teenage boys got into difficulty while swimming at Inchydoney. A number of people who saw them entered the water to try to rescue them.

The Coast Guard emergency coordination centre in Valentia tasked the Coast Guard helicopter from Shannon, Courtmacsherry RNLI and Castlefreke Coast Guard Unit to the area, and requested assistance from gardai and the National Ambulance Service. 

The four teenagers were taken from the water by members of the public within 15 minutes of the alarm being raised. Two of them were hypothermic and required medical assistance.

Around an hour later, emergency services were called to two missing swimmers in Glandore Harbour.

The Coast Guard helicopter from Waterford, Toe Head and Glandore Coast Guard Unit and Union Hall RNLI attended the scene. The two missing swimmers, believed to be teenage girls, were located on rocks about a kilometre from where they went missing at around 3.50pm.

A Coast Guard spokesman reminded the public that water temperatures are low, in spite of the high temperatures on land.