Early-morning swimmers spark search operation
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Monday December 21 2009
A FESTIVE party prank sparked a major emergency alert after three young men decided to go for an early morning swim over the weekend.
The friends decided to go for a dip in dangerous, icy waters in Galway city.
The three were seen jumping off the Quincentenary Bridge and into the River Corrib shortly before 9am on Saturday morning.
Two were stripped to their underpants, while the third man remained fully clothed.
The emergency services were immediately alerted after passers-by lost sight of the trio and a major search and rescue plan was put into operation to find the men.
Gardai, fire brigade personnel, sub-aqua divers and even some local rowing clubs were called to the scene to search for the men, amid fears of a major Christmas tragedy.
The Salmon Weir was closed as fisheries officials feared that the men could be swept downstream and over the weir, close to where the Corrib enters Galway Bay.
But following a two-hour search, the emergency was scaled down as it became apparent that the three pranksters had somehow made their way to safety and fled the scene.
A fire brigade spokesman said: "They wouldn't have lasted long in that water -- it was so cold.
"It seems that they got out before ourselves or the gardai began to search for them."
- Brian McDonald
Irish Independent
