Three rescued from water in Co Down

Two men have been rescued from the water in Strangford Lough.

Both had been using a jet ski on the eastern shore of the Lough in Co Down on Saturday afternoon before one man, who had been riding the jet ski, fell into the water and was unable to get back onto it.

The second man, realising the first was in difficulty, started to swim from the shore to try to help.

The RLNI lifeboat was launched from Portaferry at 4.50pm, approximately 1.5 miles from Ballyhenry Island, where the two men were in distress.

The men were helped on board the lifeboat at 5.00pm and taken ashore.

In a separate incident a fisherman who had fallen from rocks into the sea near Ardglass Golf Course was rescued by a passing boat and returned to shore at Ardglass Marina on Sunday morning.

The volunteer lifeboat crew administered first aid on the man when they arrived at the scene.

Simon Rogers, the Lifeboats Operations Manager for Portaferry RNLI said: ‘We can go for weeks without any call outs, but during those quiet periods our volunteer boat and shore crew members train hard every week, preparing for situations such as this.

He continued: “It is thanks to their dedication and hard work that we are able to respond so quickly and as often as required to help those in trouble at sea.”