A SEARCH and rescue mission in Co. Kerry culminated in an unusual ending - as the man at the centre of the search was found in the local pub.
According to Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue, they were dispatched on Monday evening, January 9, to assist in the search for a man in his 40s.
There were concerns for the man's safety following a call from a concerned taxi driver who had dropped in him in Ballybunion, on the west coast of Kerry.
According to the taxi driver, the man had enquired as to how to get the cliffs and, considering the extreme weather that evening, this 'rang alarm bells' for the taxi driver.
After the driver reported it, a search of the cliffs and "extremely rough sea" at Nuns Strand and Ladies Strand was underway, by the Sea and Cliff Rescue team, the Fire and Rescue, and the Helicopter Rescue 115 from Shannon as well as An Garda Síochána.
But shortly before 9pm, just an hour after the search started, it was stood down as "the man was found safe and well in a pub in the town, oblivious to what was happening as a result of his remark to the taxi driver."
While the man was found safe and well, Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue also said the "taxi driver had become concerned and made the right decision, as he felt the man’s line of conversation warranted some form of professional intervention."
Read the full post from Ballybunion Sea and Rescue here...
First Callout for 2017.
At 19:37 this evening (09/01/17) Ballybunion Sea & Cliff Rescue and the Ballybunion Coast Guard...Posted by Ballybunion Rescue on Monday, 9 January 2017
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