Wicklow RNLI Inshore lifeboat launched on service
Wicklow Inshore lifeboat launched after 3.30pm this afternoon (Friday 19 July) following a Coast Guard launch request.
The initial report was of two people in difficulties on an inflatable canoe off Killcoole beach and they were being swept offshore.
Ten minutes after launching, the lifeboat under the command of (Helm) Alan Goucher was stood down by the Coast Guard and returned to station, after the people got ashore and were checked over by the Greystones Coast Guard Shore unit.
This was the second callout for the Inshore lifeboat this week. On Tuesday (16 July) Dennis & Audrey was launched at 12.40pm to reports of a person in the water near the North pier at Wicklow harbour.
The volunteer crew assisted Lifeguards and Paramedics from the National Ambulance Service at the scene. Coast guard helicopter Rescue 116 was also tasked to the incident.
The casualty was treated by Paramedics on the swimming raft before being transferred ashore by lifeboat to a waiting NAS ambulance.
Regrettably the person was pronounced dead a short time later.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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