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A woman was taken to safety by an Irish Coast Guard helicopter today when she had difficulty while swimming in the sea at Greystones, Co Wicklow.
The rescue took place around 4 pm in South Beach when members of the public alerted emergency services after seeing what was described as the woman “walking away” from her two swim partners.
A coast guard spokesperson told RTÉ: “The woman was an experienced swimmer, but the conditions were very windy, a wind warning had been issued for the area, and the sea was rough.”
“The Coast Guard unit at Greystones went to the scene, but was unable to launch a boat due to harsh conditions.”
The coast guard then alerted the crew of the Rescue 116 helicopter at Dublin Airport, which flew to South Beach in about ten minutes.
“Our boat was manned and ready to launch, but conditions were at our maximum allowed and therefore it was decided that Rescue 116 would attempt to rescue her first, while the boat’s crew was on standby,” according to a statement on Facebook. of the Greystones Coast Guard. page.
“A passing lifeguard tried to help the woman, but the conditions at the time were dangerous. He managed to get her a lifeguard before she had to return to shore.”
Coast Guard pulling someone out of the sea on Greystones Beach just now. Crazy things.@rtenews pic.twitter.com/d4AJvzcLHY
– Hugh Cahill (@ hughcahill7) November 11, 2020
Greystones gardaí also went to the beach when a large crowd had gathered there.
“Approximately ten minutes after taking off from Dublin Airport, Rescue 116 arrived at the scene and a winch lowered into the water and carried the woman to safety,” the coast guard spokesman said.
He said the woman had been in the water for nearly an hour and was “very tired and slightly hypothermic; she was wearing a bathing suit, not a wetsuit. The water temperature would have been around 10 ° C.”
Both the lifeguard and the rescued swimmer were taken to St Vincent Hospital in Dublin for evaluation. There were no life-threatening injuries.
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