4 rescued after teenage girls swept out to sea on large rubber ring

The RNLI has stressed the danger of using inflatable toys at sea, following a rescue yesterday.

The Wicklow RNLI has issued a warning over the use of inflatable devices, after two teenage girls were swept out to sea yesterday. The girls were in the water at Silver Strand beach in Co. Wicklow before they were swept off on a large inflatable ring. Two men went to assist the girls, and they were able to drag them to nearby rocks. All four were met by Wicklow lifeboats and a rescue helicopter attended the scene. The girls were then airlifted to Dublin airport, and then taken to hospital via ambulance. The girls are currently being treated for their injuries at hospital. On RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mary Aldridge, the lifeboat operations manager at RNLI, said that the teenagers were traumatised, and had suffered some cuts and bruises. She added, however, that they were "very lucky" following the rescue. She said that without the "quick actions of all involved", it would have been a "different result". Ms Aldridge urged the public not to use inflatable devices and toys when swimming in the sea. She stressed that they are only suitable for use in swimming pools, but at sea, even on calm days, they can be "lethal". Yesterday, conditions were "sunny, but windy," according to the RNLI. "We've seen crocodiles, flamingos, unicorns, dinosaurs, lilos," Ms Aldridge said. "They can be lethal." "You can be taken out and be 100 metres offshore before you realise it," she added. For more information on water safety this summer, head to RNLI's official website.