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A KAYAKER SPENT almost two hours trapped in a raging river in a 35ft deep gorge in Co Clare while five others managed to escape to safety.
The alarm was raised shortly before 4pm today when it was reported that a group of kayakers had gotten into difficulty near Doolin.
They had been kayaking down the Aille River which runs between Lisdoonvarna and Doolin when they got into trouble.
A multi-agency rescue operation was promptly mounted involving Clare County Fire and Rescue Service, the Irish Coast Guard and National Ambulance Service. Gardaí also attended the incident.
Two units of the fire brigade from Ennistymon, including members specially trained in swift water rescue, were sent to the scene along with additional personnel from Ennis. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was also tasked to the incident.
The kayakers got into trouble in a deep gorge where the river narrows.
Five of the group managed to climb onto the bank and pull themselves to safety. They were scored to safety by fire service personnel.
One man, however, was left trapped in the river.
It’s understood that he grabbed onto a rock and held on for a time. When he realised he would not be able to get out by himself, the alarm was raised by his friends.
Fire service personnel from Ennistymon were first to arrive at the scene and had to use a 4×4 vehicle to negotiate a muddy track to reach the scene. Fire crews also used chainsaws to cut away trees and shrubbery before they could climb down to the casualty while secured by ropes.
The Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was placed on standby but wasn’t tasked as the casualty was said not to be in imminent danger.
Doolin Coast Guard personnel used an all-terrain vehicle to help them access the area and transport climbing equipment. Members also climbed down the steep gorge wall to assist fire crews.
Almost two hours after the alarm was raised, the casualty was safely recovered from the gorge. He was initially assessed by first responders and later by a National Ambulance Service advanced paramedic.
A second kayaker was also assessed after he suffered a head injury but it was not reported to be serious. After being checked over by the advanced paramedic both were reunited with their friends and allowed return home.
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This story…Really takes the Biscuit
There was an Met Éireann Orange Wind Warning for all 9 counties along entire Atlantic seaboard plus Waterford & Wexford today which commenced @10am this Morning .
The was also a corresponding Yellow Rain warning for the entire country … anyone with some sense knows Counties Clare & Galway have consistently the wettest recorded places in Ireland …
By my rough estimate counting Gardai , Fire Services , Coast Guard etc.. this tied up a group 15-20 Frontline responders today ..
All because a group of MUPPETS decided it was a good day to go Kayaking..
Let Darwin’s Law prevail I say…
This is completely irresponsible behaviour by all involved … there needs to be some recourse in law when people ignore Met Éireann Orange Weather earnings.
@XvSv: more water = better kayaking
@XvSv: orange warning was issued today but valid from tomorrow.
Yellow warning and they go out kayaking, resulting in putting the emergency services lives at risk to save them? Yep that’s the define of stupidity alright.
Well done to the emergency services.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: you haven’t a clue what your talking about
@Clarke Owen: enlighten us with your wisdom.
It’s as if some of ye read a completely different article about someone strolling up a mountain after dark on his own.
Well done to all Emergency services!
They should have an insurance policy which pays for the time of the emergency services they use. It’s called Civil Responsibility in places like Switzerland. Even if thr fire brigade comes out to douse your place it has to be covered by buildings fire insurance.
@David Shiels: there are people here who would refuse to pay for the water.
If there’s a weather warning in place and people willingly put themselves into such situations that they might need rescuing, they should be made pay the costs of such call outs to any of the services involved.
@Jurga Moylan: Well luckily the Coast Guard and RNLI disagree with you. They believe it will lead to fatalities as people will leave it too late. So let’s go with the real experts, not the keyboard ones.
@TheHeathen:
You don’t have to be an expert to express an opinion.
@Jurga Moylan: ain’t that the truth
@Jurga Moylan: Just as long as you remember that your opinion is not backed by expert knowledge. This is where the It’s-my-opinion brigade go a little cray.
Not a good day for kayaking weather wise.
I was out kayaking in Wicklow earlier, as were many. Perfect weather for it. Keyboard warrior’s need to get a grip and understand the sport
@Simon Hall:
Ya I can imagine the lads sent to rescue such people saying “perfect weather for a rescue lads”
@Jurga Moylan: brilliant. Comeback of the day.
@Simon Hall: how about explaining it to people politely instead? I, for one, would have thought it wasn’t suitable weather for being out on the water today.
@Jen: heavy rain, means faster rivers, means better kayaking conditions.
@Jason Ebbs: does better also equal more dangerous? Like bigger waves in surfing?
@John Horan: The sport is whitewater kayaking after all. It’s more like wanting ideal surfing conditions rather than big wave surfing. Rivers are in torrent after rain. This is really the only time you get whitewater. The fun of the sport is in playing in hydraulic features. In fairness, most people being critical haven’t a clue what they’re talking about. Whitewater kayaking groups carry their own self rescue equipment and are more proficient at river rescue techniques than the emergency services. This incident has little to do with weather conditions. The issue was the gorge. It’s virtually impossible to set up a rope rescue because of terrain. There might have been a novice in the group that made a bad decision and went the wrong way and got pinned.
Stupid decision based on weather warnings. Putting the rescue people as risk as well.
Well done to the first responders on the scene. Doolin CG in particular are all volunteers. They spend many weekends and evenings away from their families training for just such eventualities. I’m sure they were only delighted to have a positive outcome. More often than not Doolin is tasked in recovery so to have their training save a life is why they give up so much of their time. I for one am very thankful for people like them.
@Skipper Mac: I agree wholeheartedly. Very glad that the kayaker wasn’t alone and managed to keep his head above water long enough for help to reach him. The emergency volunteers are fantastic and great at what they do.
Thankfully it ended well but fairly dumb to go kayaking today. No doubt this lad will dine out on his multi agency rescue for years to come.
If the weather and the conditions of the ocean are on your side then go kayaking. If the ocean is not kayak friendly then stay at home… after all why put your life in danger.
Sampling bias. You don’t know the big picture. There are 100s of kayakers paddling in such conditions in any case of extreme weather, yet they all go unreported, as do the amounts of rescues carried out by trained kayakers of their own group. 100% of incidents reported by the media are very serious.
I’m trying to picture this in three dimensions. I’m assuming that the gorge is a known route and wider at the bottom.
Might it be that the river level was unusually high, lifting the boats to where the channel walls narrow together?
have your say