By Paul McElwee
A MAN’S quick thinking and eagle-eyed observation have been credited with helping to save the life of a swimmer who recently got into difficulty in rough seas off the Donegal coast.
Danny McGinty was enjoying a few days in Bundoran with his family when a walk with his four-year-old daughter turned into a dramatic rescue operation involving the Coast Guard, Bundoran RNLI, a beach lifeguard and the Rescue 118 helicopter.
Danny had earlier noticed a man in a black wetsuit entering the water, despite the challenging conditions.
“I took my daughter for a walk around Rougey, looking out to sea and enjoying the view,” he said. “We had noticed a man in a black wetsuit entering the water for a dip.
“The water was quite rough, and I remember thinking to myself ‘he’s a bit crazy to be doing that in this weather.’”
Danny and his daughter, from Strabane, continued their walk along the clifftop, stopping to look around the rock pools before taking shelter from the rain.
It was while they were there that Danny heard someone shouting for help.
The Rescue 118 helicopter and lifeboat pictured during the emergency in Bundoran.
“I had a camera with a telescopic lens and used it to scan the water. Eventually I saw a man in the water and realised it was the same man we had seen getting into the water.”
Danny immediately contacted the Donegal Coast Guard and raised the alarm.
“I explained the situation to the coastguard and, once I hung up, tried to get the attention of the lifeguard at his station… Eventually the lifeguard came out, and I went down the steps to meet him and explain what was going on before heading back up to my daughter and watching the events unfold.”
Danny raised the alarm at 4.42pm on Wednesday, prompting Bundoran RNLI to launch its inshore lifeboat.
While the weather itself was described as good, the RNLI said the sea presented a major challenge, with a two-metre swell and breaking waves.
The swimmer was struggling to stay afloat and attempting to swim on his back.
Crucially, Danny was still able to see the casualty from his position on the cliffs. As the rescue boat battled through the swell, the crew initially passed the swimmer.
“Due to the water being so rough and the man wearing a dark wetsuit, they actually passed him once or twice, so I got back onto the coastguard and relayed the exact information as to where he was in relation to the boats. Thankfully, he was eventually plucked from the water.
“It was a very scary situation and every second counts in that scenario; to be honest I wasn’t sure he was going to survive.”
The scene in Bundoran as the RNLI crew reach the person in the water.
The RNLI crew eventually managed to reach the casualty between the breaking waves and bring him safely aboard the lifeboat before returning him to the pier.
With concerns that he may have taken in water, an ambulance was requested and he was transferred to hospital as a precaution.
Once the swimmer had been taken to safety, Danny and his daughter went to the area where they had originally seen him enter the water. They collected his belongings and brought them to the lifeguard station, where the man was being treated by paramedics.
They did not get the opportunity to speak to him, but Danny was simply relieved to know that the man was safe.
Despite the fact that his decision to raise the alarm, identify the casualty and then relay his position to rescuers appears to have played a critical role in the successful rescue, Danny rejects any suggestion that he is a hero.
“All I did was make the phone call, it was others who braved the conditions and the weather in order to go out and save the man; they did all the fantastic work, not me. The coastguard are the heroes of the piece.
“I would say to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to just make the call. You could end up saving someone’s life.”