A multi-agency search and rescue operation was mounted this morning after a tractor was discovered overturned in a river in North Clare.
The alarm was raised at around 10.30am after a passer-by called the Irish Coast Guard to report finding the vehicle lying on its side in the Aille River at Coolagh Bridge close to Doolin.
The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service and the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter were all alerted and tasked to the incident. Gardaí were also informed.
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Volunteers from the Doolin unit of the Coast Guard made their way to the scene. Members checked the tractor’s cab and the area around the vehicle but found no trace of the driver.
Units of Ennistymon Fire Service arrived soon afterwards and personnel, trained in water rescue, also carried out a search of the river downstream from the scene. A comprehensive search of the area was completed however no one was found.
In the meantime, enquiries were made in an effort to establish the identity of the tractor’s owner or who may have been driving it. It was found that the man had made his way to a local house after the incident. While it’s not known whether he was injured it’s understood he did not require hospitalisation.
The incident is believed to have happened on Thursday night. The tractor is believed to have travelled about 20 metres down a steep embankment into the river after leaving the narrow and winding country road.
Once it was confirmed that there was no one missing and that man believed to have been driving the tractor was safe, the search operation was stood down.
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