Two separate water safety 'near misses' on Cork beaches; Warning for bank holiday weekend

Two people were taken to hospital following an incident on a Cork beach this afternoon.

Emergency services including gardaí from Clonakilty, the Courtmacsherry All Weather Trent Class RNLI Lifeboat, the Irish Coastguard Unit from Castlefreke, the Coastguard Rescue 115 Helicopter from Shannon and the ambulance service were called to Inchydoney in West Cork just after 2pm this afternoon after two swimmers got into difficulty off Virgin Mary’s Bank.

It is understood that four people were swimming together when two people got into difficulty.

The other two swimmers made it to the shoreline and raised the alarm by immediately contacting the rescue services.

This afternoon gardaí confirmed that following the attendance of the emergency services, all four were taken safely to shore.

A garda spokesperson said two of the males were taken to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Commenting on this afternoon’s callout, the Courtmacsherry RNLI Voluntary LPO Vincent O Donovan thanked all the lifeboat crew members and station officers for ensuring a safe callout.

“It was also vital that the call for help to the Rescue services was made as quickly as possible as vital minutes can be so important in all rescues,” he said.

The RNLI meanwhile has appealed to people partaking in any water activities or planning a visit to the coast this Bank Holiday weekend to remember and follow RNLI safety advice and to stay safe in these difficult times for all rescue services.

Meanwhile, around an hour after the incident in Inchydoney, emergency services were called to two missing swimmers in Glandore.

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.