Tag Archives: Clare Emergency Services

A man has died after the microlight aircraft he was piloting crashed in Co. Clare this afternoon. The circumstances of the tragedy are still unclear however it’s understood the accident occurred at around 4.45pm in field off the Ballard Road about a kilometre from Miltown Malbay. National Ambulance Service paramedics, units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennistymon station and Gardaí rushed to the scene. The Athlone-based Emergency Aeromedical Service (EAS) air ambulance was also tasked to the incident. The man was however pronounced dead at the scene. While there is some confusion about the type of aircraft involved, it’s believed to have been a flexwing microlight which comprises a delta shaped hang-glider type wing and single motor. The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport has been notified of the accident and is expected to send inspectors to the scene early on Monday. Gardaí have preserved the scene pending the arrival of the AAIU …

An investigation is expected to be launched into an incident at Shannon Airport early today when a helicopter suffered difficulties while landing. The incident occurred at around 6.20am as the Eurocopter EC155B was about to land at a small aircraft park at the airport. It’s understood the helicopter landed heavily but the pilot managed to maintain control of his aircraft and keep it upright. It’s believed the pilot had been cleared to land on a taxiway from where he would then taxi to the light aircraft park. As the helicopter was setting down on the taxiway the pilot experienced difficulties and the aircraft appeared to land heavily. The incident occurred about 100 metres from the airport fire station so crews were able to respond very quickly. Airport crash crews mobilised the short distance to the scene and found that pilot was uninjured. It’s not yet clear whether the helicopter was carrying passengers at the time. Operations at Shannon Airport were …

AN apartment building in the centre of Ennis was evacuated this afternoon following a fire. The blaze was reported at around 12.45pm in a ground floor apartment at Bindon Lane off Bank Place. Two units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station responded to the call along with Gardaí and National Ambulance Service paramedics. The response was mobilised by controllers at the Munster Regional Fire Control Centre in Limerick. On arrival, fire crews found a fire in the bedroom of a ground floor apartment. Firefighters quickly began tackling the blaze while other personnel commenced evacuation procedures knocking on apartment doors to alert residents. It was soon established that almost all residents made their own way to an assembly point after they followed the building’s own evacuation procedures when the fire alarm was activated. Fire crews found one elderly man in his apartment and helped him to safety. The man was assessed by ambulance paramedics and was found …

The search for a man missing of the Clare coast will continue today with divers from the southwest region of Comhairle Fó Thúinn (Irish Underwater Council) due to resume operations in the vicinity of where the man is believed to have been diving. Dive teams from Kilkee and Burren Sub Aqua Clubs took part in searches over the weekend. It’s expected however that poor weather, due to move across Clare from tomorrow and for the remainder of the week, may prevent diving operations. A total of 16 volunteer divers and four crew were involved in Sunday’s operation completing dives down to depths of 40 meters in search of any trace of the missing man. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was also involved in yesterday’s search while Kilkee Coast Guard volunteers conducted further shoreline searches.

The Garda Water Unit has joined the search for a man believed missing at a popular beauty spot in County Clare. The alarm was raised on Sunday evening when Gardaí were notified that a car had been located at the Bridges of Ross on the Loop Head peninsula and may have been there for several days. Gardaí visited the scene and after taking the details of the car, commenced efforts to identify and locate its owner. Gardaí established from speaking to locals that the car may have been parked in the area for almost a week. Gardaí also learned that the man, an experienced cave diver, had gone to the area possibly to explore a local cave. It’s understood the man is Eastern European but has been living in Ireland for some time. The Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard and Gardaí carried out a search of the area where the man’s car was found late last night. The …

A BODY has been recovered from the sea off County Clare this afternoon, the second in less than 24 hours. It is understood two former Doolin Coast Guard members spotted the body yesterday afternoon. A drone was launched to investigate and footage confirmed the presence of a body. However, weather conditions were considered too dangerous to effect a safe recovery. Gardaí requested divers from the Garda Water Unit to travel to Clare this morning to carry out a recovery operation. Two boats departed Doolin Pier at around 10.20am in what would be a two-hour operation to recover the body. At around 12.30pm the divers safely recovered the body and transported the remains to Doolin Pier where they were met by local Gardaí, Coast Guard volunteers, a doctor and priest. When the man was formally pronounced dead his body was removed by hearse to University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out later. Meanwhile, not long after the …

A body has been recovered from the sea off County Clare on Thursday afternoon. An initial search was conducted in the north Clare area on Friday night last (April 1) amid fears that a person may have entered the sea. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was tasked to undertake an initial search of the area. The Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter was also requested to assist in the search. Rescue 115 conducted a detailed search of the area but the search was stood down for the night when there was nothing found. Doolin Coast Guard volunteers returned to the scene again on Saturday morning in search of any sign of the missing man. The team also launched a drone as part of the operation and searched the coastline and cliff top areas. Rescue 115 also returned to the scene to carry out further searches on Saturday afternoon. The search had been hampered by poor weather earlier this …

A TRANSATLANTIC jet has made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport after suffering an engine problem off the south coast this morning. This is the second time in less than a fortnight that a United Airlines flight travelling from the U.S. to Europe was forced to make an emergency diversion to Shannon. This morning, a United Airlines flight UA-52 was travelling from Washington in the United States to Zurich, Switzerland with 126 passengers and crew on board. Shortly after 5am, as the Boeing 767-300 jet was passing south of Ireland, the crew declared an emergency reporting an issue with the aircraft’s left engine. As the flight was rerouting towards Shannon, emergency procedures were being implemented at the airport. Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Shannon and Enns stations were mobilised to the Shannon in support of the airport’s own fire and rescue crews. National Ambulance Service paramedics and Gardaí were also dispatched to the scene as part …