SHANNON FERRIES have confirmed an internal review will be conducted after a passenger went overboard when travelling on the Tarbert to Killimer ferry on Sunday morning.
Shortly after 9am on Sunday morning, a male passenger went overboard from a Shannon Ferries vessel travelling from Tarbert to Killimer.
An internal review will be carried out to determine how the incident occurred, Shannon Ferries have confirmed.
In a statement, the Shannon Ferry Group Limited Board outlined, “Our crew immediately initiated emergency procedures, alerted the Irish Coast Guard and supported a coordinated search and rescue operation involving Rescue 117, the RNLI, Irish Coast Guard lifeboats, local vessels and Shannon Pilots. The individual was subsequently recovered and transferred to University Hospital Limerick.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities and will be conducting an internal review of the incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the man involved and his family. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the staff and crew of our vessel and to all those who responded so swiftly and professionally to this incident,” the statement added.
After falling overboard, the man was in the water for up to two hours. After the man’s location was identified on the Kerry side of the Shannon Estuary, he was winched on board the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 117 helicopter, with Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue Team’s Atlantic 75 and D class rescue vessels and Kilrush RNLI lifeboat assisting in the water.
As well as the Waterford-based Rescue 117 helicopter, the extensive search and rescue operation also involved several units of lifeboats and local yachts. Assistance was provided by Kilrush RNLI, the Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard and the Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue Team.
According to a spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard, “Shortly after 9.20am, MRSC Valentia received a report that that a person had fallen overboard from the ferry. An extensive search and rescue mission was initiated immediately, involving a fleet of local vessels, Ballybunion and Kilkee Coast Guard units and Kilrush and Feniit RNLI. The casualty was located and recovered by the Coast Guard helicopter and has been transferred into the care of the HSE at Limerick University Hospital”.
