Joy as woman and teenage girl rescued after spending 15 hours at sea clinging to lobster pot

A woman and teenage girl who were reported missing after going paddle boarding in Galway Bay yesterday afternoon have been found ALIVE.

It's understood that the two - who are believed to be cousins - were found by the RNLI after being found by a local fisherman who discovered them clinging to a lobster pot.

The two, aged 17 and 23, are believed to have survived 15 hours in the water.

Their condition is not known but the Irish Coast Guard said it transferred them to the care of the HSE.

They are currently receiving treatment at University College Hospital Galway.

The two had set out paddle boarding from the beach in Na Forbacha (Furbo) yesterday afternoon.

A large crowd had gathered at the pier to wait on news of the pair and scenes of despair soon turned to joy and relief as news filtered through that they were alive.

Barry Heskin of the RNLI told RTE: "We don't know how they ended up where they actually ended up and how they survived, but it is truly a fantastic result. And, you know, we had a very serious night last night with loads of rain, thunder, lightning, high winds, coming from the North. The word we have is that they were in unusually good condition once they were taken out of the water by Patrick Oliver, a local fisherman here, who is also a shore member of the Galway Lifeboat Service."

The paddleboarders were wearing buoyancy aids but no wetsuits.

"They were found in the region of 17 miles from where they actually were last seen on the boards and had buoyancy aids which no doubt would have helped them but they that hadn't got any wetsuits on so they would have endured the dark night. I'm sure they were very scared.

"A massive air and sea rescue commenced at 10 o'clock last night, and started off with just ourselves as we presumed that the people were gone offshore and would be found fairly quickly. And then as we got more serious, more, more resources word has brought into the scene, along with Aran Island lifeboats which come in from Aran and has been on the scene all night and is still on scene. And then we brought in the Coast Guard, the Civil Defences and helicopter services as well as all the volunteers around the bay that had ribs and small boats."

The reaction at RNLI station on hearing the news was pure joy.

"We were jumping around the station here I can tell you and a few tears were shed, we'll be celebrating for the rest of the day, that's for sure."

More to follow...

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