Fisherman dies after being swept out to sea by large wave

A man has died after being swept out to sea by a large wave while fishing in Co Waterford.

The incident occurred on Bunmahon Beach near Dungarvan at approximately 1.45pm on Tuesday.

Dublin Coastguard, which co-ordinated the rescue attempt, received a 999 call at 1.50pm from the man’s friend who was also fishing.

A spokesman for the coastguard said the man was swept out to sea by a large wave before his friend entered the water and attempted to rescue him.

He was unsuccessful and returned to shore to raise the alarm.

The spokesman for the coastguard said that because the man had been reportedly in the water for five minutes, the Waterford-based coastguard helicopter was dispatched, along with the RNLI lifeboat and a community rescue boat.

The helicopter crew located the man but he was found to be face down in the water and non-responsive.

The helicopter winched him to the aircraft and returned to base where CPR was performed.

The man was then transferred by ambulance to the Accident and Emergency department of University Hospital Waterford where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The man’s friend, a 36-year-old Lithuanian national, was treated for shock, bruising, and ingested water incurred during his rescue attempt. His injuries were said to be non life-threatening.

The spokesman for the coastguard urged people to remain vigilant of large waves and not to fish in areas that are not frequented by local people.

“These waves are often described as freak waves,” he said. “One in every seven waves is a large wave - so they’re not freak waves - they’re large waves.”