Five children rescued from sea by off-duty nurses in Co Down

By Cate McCurry, PA

Five young children were rescued by off-duty nurses after they got into difficulty off a beach in Co Down on Sunday.

The Newcastle Coastguard team was called to the Minerstown beach, near Downpatrick, at about 9.30pm after reports that the five children, who are siblings, had been caught out by the rising tide.

After two initial responders from the coastguard team arrived at the beach, they found the children had been brought ashore by the two off-duty nurses who spotted that the children were in danger and went into the sea to bring them to safety.

The remainder of the Newcastle team arrived on scene, followed by Kilkeel Coastguard team and Newcastle RNLI’s inshore lifeboat, and provided casualty care for the five children who needed varying degrees of care.

The casualties were taken to a nearby house for warmth while waiting for paramedics who arrived and took the children to the Ulster Hospital.

Newcastle Coastguard team paid tribute to the two off-duty nurses who waded into the water to rescue the children.

In a statement, the coastguard said: “They showed remarkable bravery and fortitude in a rapidly deteriorating situation to calmly bring the three youngest children to shore before wading out up to their chests in water to rescue the two oldest children.

“They then looked after the children until the arrival of the Coastguard and RNLI teams and remained at the scene right up until the ambulance service took the children to hospital.

“The women displayed outstanding courage, ignoring their own safety to ensure the children were not only brought ashore but cared for until the arrival of the emergency services.

“We would like to thank the owner of the nearby house for opening their doors to the children while we waited for the paramedics to arrive and to the shore team at Newcastle RNLI who brought additional supplies of oxygen to the scene by road.”