Ireland

Woman who became unwell swimming in Lough Derg on Thursday dies in hospital

Woman (50s), who was swimming at Twomilegate, became unresponsive after climbing on to a pontoon

The woman was flown by helicopter to University Hospital Limerick but subsequently died.

Pat Flynn
Fri Sep 8 2023 - 13:42

A woman who was airlifted to hospital after becoming unwell while swimming in Lough Derg, Co Clare on Thursday evening has died in hospital.

Emergency services were alerted to the incident at Twomilegate in the east of the county shortly before 6:30pm.

The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard and National Ambulance Service responded. The Emergency Aeromedical Service dispatched the HSE’s Cork-based air ambulance, Aeromed 01, to the scene.

It’s understood the woman, believed to be in her 50s, had been swimming at Twomilegate when she either got into difficulty or became unwell. She managed to make her way to a pontoon and climbed on to it. It is believed she then became unresponsive.

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Two members of the public came to her aid and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Once Coast Guard volunteers from nearby Killaloe arrived they continued efforts to resuscitate the woman.

An ambulance and two rapid response advanced paramedic units also attended the scene.

In the meantime, Coast Guard personnel cleared a green area close to the scene where they secured a safe landing zone for the helicopter. The woman was stretchered to the helicopter and flown to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

Gardaí have confirmed that the woman died later in hospital.

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