Lough rescue drama over ferry incident

Lough rescue drama over ferry incident

22 July 2015

A MAJOR emergency was declared in Strangford Lough on Saturday night after it was feared a man had fallen into the water.

The crew of the Strangford ferry raised the alarm around 10.15pm fearing one of the passengers had fallen overboard during the crossing to Portaferry.

The emergency services sprung into action with Portaferry RNLI launched and members of Portaferry Coastguard scouring the coastline. The Irish Coastguard helicopter, Rescue 116, was launched from Dublin to assist with the operation.

John Austin, head of Portaferry Coastguard, said the ferry crew were concerned one of the passengers had fallen into the water.

“After searching the ferry for the man they thought was missing the crew raised the alarm,” he explained.

“The RNLI and ourselves immediately commenced a search operation but there was no sign of anyone in the water or along the coastline.”

Mr Austin said the identity of the man who was unaccounted for was known and that as a result of subsequent investigations, he was eventually traced to his parents’ house in Portaferry.

He added: “It would appear the man got off the ferry when it docked in Portaferry without anyone noticing he had left the vessel.”