A woman who fell into the water near Harbour Village in Killaloe was rescued and taken by ambulance for observation to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick on Thursday night.
Killaloe Coast Guard Unit (KCG) was contacted by a concerned member of the public who heard a call for help close to its base at Pier Head.
The team were paged by Valentia Coast Guard at 8.30 pm and within minutes there was a boat and land crew departing base and searching the Clare shore.
The Shannon-based Coast Guard Search and Rescue helicopter and a HSE ambulance were also requested to provide their assistance. Five minutes after departing base, the KCG land team located a cruiser tied up in Harbour Village with two people on board and were informed a female crew member had slipped from the jetty and entered the water behind the cruiser.
The woman was calling for help as she had no life jacket and was unable to swim. Her husband and two members of the public helped rescue the women from the water. Members from Killaloe Coastguard unit went on board and assisted the casualty. It was decided to get the paramedics to check the casualty.
The Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter landed at Killaloe GAA pitch and were ready to transport the casualty to hospital. The KCG mobile unit transported the casualty to Killaloe GAA where they were met by a HSE ambulance and advanced paramedic. It was decided by the HSE advanced paramedic and the coastguard helicopter paramedic to transport the casualty to hospital by ambulance. The coastguard helicopter and Killaloe Coastguard then stood down.
A KCG spokesman said the rescue was an example of great teamwork by all the participants.
He thanked members of the public and members of the Killaloe Ballina Search and Recovery who offered their assistance.
Dan Danaher
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.