FOUR PEOPLE have been rescued by the RNLI after two men tried to save two girls who had been swept out to sea on an inflatable toy.
According to RTÉ News, the two young girls had been playing on an inflatable toy on Silver Strand beach on the County Wicklow coast when the tide suddenly swept them out to sea.
Two men who were also at the beach noticed the girls in distress and went out to sea to help them, managing to pull them on to rocks near the beach but leaving all four stuck.
The Wicklow RNLI Lifeboat and Rescue 116 helicopter were called to the scene, and after an assessment it was decided that the two girls should be brought to CHI Temple Street Children's Hospital.
The Rescue 116 Helicopter transferred the girls to Dublin airport, where they were picked up by an ambulance and transferred to hospital to receive treatment.
The Rescue 116 helicopter shared footage of the rescue on social media, with the clip showing rescuers dropping from the helicopter to the lifeboat and transferring the injured girls via a harness.
The men, who many on social media are lauding as heroes for their actions, did not require medical treatment and were returned to the beach by the RNLI Wicklow Lifeboat.
The Irish public have again been reminded that "inflatable toys do not belong anywhere near the sea" as they are at risk of being pulled out by the tide without warning.
