A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl has been taken to hospital after she was swept out to sea while on an inflatable lilo.
Emergency services rushed to Portmarnock Beach in Dublin at around 2pm this afternoon after being alerted by a phone call from a member of the public.
The girl got into difficulty after the inflatable was pulled away from the shoreline.
The Irish Coast Guard were notified and units from the Howth RNLI as well as the Dublin Fire Brigade were called to the scene.
Just as the emergency operation was getting under way to rescue her, the girl was brought to shore by three quick-thinking teenagers who noticed her in distress and swam out to save her.
It’s believed that the child may have fallen into the sea while being dragged away from the shoreline.
Once back on land, paramedics arrived at the scene and initially treated the girl there and then, before they decided to transfer her to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
Her condition has thankfully been described as non-life-threatening.
