A full scale rescue operation was launched on the River Shannon in Limerick yesterday after an emergency call was received, reporting that a man was seen entering the water at Thomond Bridge.
Three units of Limerick City Fire & Rescue Service, the Irish Coast Guard, Limerick Marine Search & Rescue, National Ambulance Service and Gardaí all responded to the call. The IRCG’s R115 from Shannon was also scrambled.
Limerick’s FireSwift boat and Swift Water Rescue Team were also involved in the operation.
File Photo: (Limerick Marine Search & Rescue)
EmergencyTimes.com understands that the 999 call was received at around 2.45pm at the Munster Regional Communications Centre in Limerick, which handles emergency calls for fire services in the Munster region.
As emergency and voluntary service personnel were searching the immediate area and downriver, gardaí made an attempt to re-establish contact with the call, but the call went to voicemail.
Emergency Times was informed that an abusive message was set up on the mobile phones voice messaging service, which was aimed at gardaí.
When it became clear the emergency call was false, all services stood down and the search was declared a hoax.
Gardai in Limerick will use CTT (Call Tracing Technology) in an effort to establish the identity of the caller in order to pursue a prosecution.
