Two men rescued from the water off Schull in 'very lucky escape'

Two men were rescued from the water off Schull on Friday evening in what Valentia Coastguard described as “a very lucky escape”.

The incident occurred just after 8pm when the RIB (rigid inflatable boat) the two men were operating overturned and they were thrown into the water off Schull.

Two lifeboats and the Rescue 115 helicopter were dispatched to rescue the men, who were said by a Coast Guard spokesperson to have had “a very lucky escape”.

“The RIB flipped them into the water and they had no flotation devices, and the RIB had no kill-switch, so it was going around and around them. They were very, very lucky,” a spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard at the Valentia Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre told The Echo.

“One of them managed to make a 999 call from his phone while he was in the water, and we dispatched help there and then.

“It was potentially a very serious situation, and it could well have been a tragedy,” the spokesperson said.

The two men were brought ashore and treated by a doctor who was in attendance, and it is understood they required no further treatment.