Two men on inflatable mattress rescued off coast of Kerry

The men were brought to safety uninjured.

An RNLI crew from Valentia in Kerry rescued two people off the coast of Dingle, after they floated out to sea on an inflatable mattress.

According to Radio Kerry, the alarm was raised at around 2pm yesterday (Sunday 22nd) by a member of the public who spotted the men in difficulties in the water at Cooncrome.

Valentia Coastguard co-ordinated the rescue of the men, which involved a lifeboat and the help of a local fishing vessel.

The two men were found to be safe and well, and were brought back to Cuas Crom pier by the crew.

Thinking of taking an inflatable to the beach? Think again.

Inflatable rings, rafts and toys can float for hours. Be beach safe this summer and leave inflatables at home or in the pool.

Retweet to help save lives. #RNLI #BeachSafety #Heatwave #StayBeachSafe #RespectTheWater pic.twitter.com/DZ0ekc1XLD

— RNLI (@RNLI) August 14, 2022

In a statement on Facebook, RNLI Valencia warned of the dangers of taking inflatables out to sea.

They said:

While inflatables can be great fun, we would advise that you don’t take them to the beach as they are not designed for open water, and it can take very little breeze for you to be swept out to sea – much quicker than you can swim or paddle back to the shore. 

The RNLI rescue hundreds of people every year from inflatables which have been swept out to sea.

Header image via Shutterstock 

READ NEXT: Search continues for missing female wallaby in Tyrone