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Swilly rescue highlights
need for Malin Head CG
06.03.08
THE rescue of seven
fishermen in Lough Swilly co-ordinated by Malin Head
Coast Guard thrust the centre's threatened closure
onto the primetime news.
Just hours after the successful rescue mission,
Inishowen Development Partnership members Andrew
Ward and Seamus Bovaird told RTE's Six One news "if
it ain't broke don't fix it." |
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Their words were echoed
yesterday by Donegal North East T.D., Deputy Joe
McHugh who praised the professionalism, skill and
immense local knowledge of the team at Malin Head
Coast Guard. They co-ordinated the mammoth mission
and tasked a number of rescue services including the
search and rescue Sikorsky helicopter from Sligo,
two Lough Swilly RNLI crews, the Mulroy Cliff and
Coast Rescue |
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team and ambulance
personnel.
The men were airlifted to safety, flown to Derry and
taken to Altnagelvin for observation. All seven were
discharged from hospital a number of hours later.
"The rescue mission clearly shows the importance and
the reliability of Malin Head Coast Guard Station
which is under threat of closure by the Department
of Transport and the Marine," said Deputy McHugh.
“Seven lives were saved in a mission co-ordinated by
the workers in Malin Head Coast Guard station. The
question I want answered is, would it have been more
efficient if it had been co-ordinated from Drogheda
or Shannon?"
Deputy McHugh said the Malin Head rescue centre
offered the best chance for mariners and others to
survive in a May Day situation.
“The viability of the Coast Guard station is under
threat because the Minister is intent on re-locating
the stations. Tuesday's rescue shows that the
Minister’s 'safety argument’ is highly unreliable.
The local knowledge provided by the RNLI and the
workers at the station offer the North West the best
in maritime safety.
“Minister Dempsey’s empty rhetoric is looking less
and less credible as each day passes. This latest
rescue proves that the Minister is wrong about the
efficiency of the Malin Head station and I want to
put this point to him and his staff in the
Department of Transport and the Marine.” |
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