Yahoo News Co Derry man praised for rescuing women in difficulty off North Coast
A Co Derry man has been praised for his bravery after jumping into the sea off the North Coast to rescue a woman who got into difficulty in the water.
Daniel McAleese was out for a walk with his mum on Portstewart Strand on Wednesday, June 19, at around 7.30pm when he noticed an injured woman screaming for help on a cliff edge, saying that her friend was drowning in need of help.
She and her friend had been caught in a rip-tide and taken out to sea and while she had been washed onto rocks on the cliff edge, her friend was still stuck in an undercurrent.
Read more: Co Derry pensioner set to run 740th marathon for mental health charity
Daniel climbed down to meet the woman who said that she was very worried for her friend's safety and could no longer see her in the water. After scanning the area for a minute or so, he eventually noticed some hair coming out of the water and quickly jumped in to rescue the woman.
After reaching her, Daniel found that she was unconscious and started talking to her in the hopes that she would come round while trying to pull her away from dangerous rocks nearby. Eventually the woman came round but was largely unresponsive.
Daniel swam her around the cliff to a safer spot which took quite a few minutes. With the help of people on the cliffside, Daniel was able to bring her to shore.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Daniel, who regularly surfs in the area, said: "When I first arrived at Portstewart Strand cliff I saw two women who were out swimming in the sea and thought at first that it was an unusual place to be swimming given the conditions. After walking a bit further I then heard screams coming from the area and saw that one of the women was calling for help after being washed up on the rocks at the cliff and I couldn't see her friend anywhere.
"I climbed down to the woman, who had suffered minor injuries, and tried to help her locate her friend in the water. She hadn't seen her friend resurface for over a minute at this stage. I couldn't see anything for about 30 seconds, although this felt like a lifetime, but eventually saw her hair coming out of the water and jumped in to get her.
"At first she was not responsive but quickly came round after I spoke to her for a bit in the water, but she was badly hurt, unable to move really at all and was bleeding quite badly from lacerations from the rocks.
"I realised that where we were was not a good location for us to be in, as we were close to an inlet at the cliffs that would have been impossible to get out of, so I swam us out to sea a bit more and around the cliff. After about ten minutes I managed to get hold of a buoy that was thrown to us by people on the shore.
"Thankfully we were then able to be pulled to shore where we met the emergency services a few minutes later. I am just glad that I managed to reach her when I did because I think if she was in the water alone any longer it is unlikely that she would have survived."
This is not the first time that Daniel has tried to help someone in the water. He added: "A few years ago I was involved in similar situation when I was surfing in Donegal and a man had got into difficulty. I went in to try and save him and got him to shore, but sadly he was not able to make it and it is something that has stayed with me.
"I am just happy that this time I was able to help the woman to safety and she was able to go home."
Following the incident a friend and neighbour of Daniel hailed his bravery saying: "I have never seen such bravery. Once the situation was resolved, Daniel was quite shaken but until everyone was safe he acted with such clarity and decisiveness."
A Coastguard spokesperson said: "Two people in the water at Portstewart Strand made their own way to land safe and well after a report of concern.
"The alarm was raised at about 7.45pm and Coleraine Coastguard Rescue Team attended with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The RNLI's inshore lifeboat from Portrush was also sent."
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
