HARBOUR HEROES
Puffer jacket helped save ‘very lucky’ young girl swept out to sea during Storm Kathleen as ‘traumatic’ scenes recounted
Andrew Sykes jumped from the RNLI lifeboat to pull her out of the water
A YOUNG girl plucked from dangerous storm waters in a heroic rescue this weekend was aided by her jacket and behaviour in the sea.
Pockets of air trapped under the six-year-old’s puffer jacket helped keep her afloat before she was pulled to safety from the frigid sea, a lifeboat volunteer has revealed.
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The child was swept off the east pier of Dun Laoghaire harbour in south Co Dublin at around 8.20 pm on Saturday as Storm Kathleen battered the country.
A major operation involving the RNLI, Coast Guard, Dublin Fire Brigade, ambulance services and Gardai was mounted as soon as the alarm was raised.
Andrew Sykes jumped from the RNLI lifeboat that reached the girl and pulled her out of the water.
Mr Sykes, a volunteer with the RNLI, said the conditions made the rescue operation difficult.
He said: “With the high winds and storm we were experiencing, with large waves and surge coming off the pier, to get alongside her was extremely difficult.
“She would be pushed one way and we would be pushed another.”
After two attempts to reach the girl from within the boat, Mr Sykes entered the water to grab hold of her and help her onto the craft.
He said she was calm and alert and was lying on her back in the water with her arms out wide.
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Mr Sykes said the air trapped in the girl’s coat was crucial. He said: “She had a jacket on and capsules of air had become trapped in it — those kept her afloat.”
Luke Nolan, 24, of Rathfarnham, Dublin originally heard the cries and alerted gardai.
He said the scene was “extremely traumatic” as he and a friend heard a cry for help as the child was swept away.
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He told RTE: “Myself and my friends were walking down Dun Laoghaire pier and we saw a girl put her hand up for help, so we approached her.
“We got in on the other side of the pier and tried to grab the girl out, but she had been swept too far away. So we got a few buoyants and tried to throw them in to help the girl, but she was too far away.”
Mr Nolan said the conditions were “absolutely horrendous”.
He added: “You go for a walk on the pier of a Saturday evening and suddenly you see a girl out in the middle of the sea, she had no life jacket, there’s nothing you can do, you feel helpless.
“But we tried our best to save her, and thankfully the Coast Guard were there. I’ve never seen anything like that, to see a young girl and to be helpless like that after trying your best.”
Talented crew
Ed Totterdell, lifeboat operations manager at Dun Laoghaire Lifeboat Station, praised the skills of the crew, who were there within eight-and-a-half minutes of receiving the emergency call.
He said: “It showed the talent of the crew that they were able to do it, they were ready for it.”
Mr Totterdell said the girl was “very lucky on two counts”.
He said: “We were alerted really quickly. We got to the girl in time.
“She was floating — that’s the other lucky piece — her jacket had filled with air and managed to keep her up as a life jacket.
“She was very cold and very frightened. But we managed to get her in the boat and bring her straight back into our station, where they started first aid care.”
Four-minute arrival time
Mr Totterdell said Dublin Fire Brigade were on the scene within four minutes and took over first aid care. The girl was later taken to hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
A crew member of the rescue boat, Gary Hayes, said the girl was hypothermic and required oxygen, but was “calm enough”.
Mr Totterdell said the child’s father and sister had been with her and were “very worried”.
The rescue team also included Gary Hayes, Andrew Sykes, and Ailbhe Smith.
The Coast Guard, RNLI, Garda, ambulance service and Dublin Fire Brigade were all involved in the operation.
The Coast Guard’s Rescue 116 helicopter was also deployed.
'Delighted she's doing well'
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard’s James Larkin said: “We are delighted to hear she’s doing well.
“Our message is to pay attention to warnings along the coast, we are still suffering from the effects of Storm Kathleen.”
Dun Laoghaire Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill praised the “extraordinary efforts” of the rescuers.
And Fianna Fail TD Cormac Devlin described the rescuers as “heroic”.
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A member of the public said: “RNLI and especially the rescuer in the water. You are all earth angels. Hope the person they rescued is doing OK.”
Around 34,000 customers lost electricity supply on Saturday but it was mostly restored by today. Heavy rain is in the forecast.
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