Search to resume this morning for man who entered Fergus river

A search is due to resume this morning for a person reported to have entered the River Fergus in Ennis late last night.

The alarm was raised shortly after 11pm when Gardaí observed a male at a bridge in the town centre.

It’s understood the man entered the river and that Gardaí deployed life-buoys in an effort to rescue him. Despite the best efforts of Gardaí, the man was quickly taken downstream in the strong current. The River Fergus is currently quite high and fast moving following recent heavy rain in the county.

A major multi-agency search and rescue operation was quickly mounted. Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station were mobilised including specially trained swift water rescue technicians (SRTs). The National Ambulance Service also dispatched paramedics and a rapid response advanced paramedic unit.

The Irish Coast Guard was notified and the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter was tasked. Clare Civil Defence was also requested to mobilise resources including their water search team. Volunteers from the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was also mobilised to the incident.

The fire service deployed their inflatable rescue boat and commenced a search close to where the man was last seen. The boat team them moved down river in search of the man. Clare Civil Defence also launched a boat and carried out a comprehensive search of the river.

The crew of Rescue 115 used the helicopter’s powerful search lights to scour the river for any trace of the man.

Three hours after the search was first mounted the search operation was stood down.

Clare Civil Defence volunteers are due to resume a search of the river early this morning.