Updated 5.15pm
TWO PEOPLE HAVE been rescued from Dublin Bay after becoming cut off from the coast at Sandymount Strand.
Their dogs were also saved, as the Garda Air Support Unit, the Dublin Coast Guard helicopter and the Dun Laoighaire RNLI inshore lifeboat crew responded.
The area – which is shallow, with a number of sandbanks – is popular with walkers.
Rescue services deal with a number of call-outs to deal with people being cut-off from the coast each year.
What happened?
The two people – a husband and wife – were noticed by the crew of the Garda chopper (the walkers themselves were unaware of any problem).
The garda helicopter informed the Coast Guard of the situation and made its way to the scene, informing the couple via loudhailer that help was on the way.
As the tide was closing in quickly, a decision was made to take the woman (and one dog) on board and fly them to safety.
The Coast Guard helicopter, which is based at Dublin Airport, then landed and took the man on board, along with the second dog.
No-one was injured in the incident, and the four were later reunited.
“All very surreal! The tide came in out of nowhere,” the woman who was rescued said, in an email to TheJournal.ie.
“Everybody was fine, both dogs have slept for the rest of the day with all the excitement!”
The couple were around a quarter of a mile from the coast, close to the Martello Tower in Sandymount.
An RNLI spokesperson warned:
“Sandymount Strand has various sandbanks which can be deceptive during incoming tides that can cut off walkers from the shore in a short space of time.”
Gale warnings and small craft warnings from Met Éireann are in effect this evening.
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