News

Woman's body recovered from base of Cliffs of Moher

Woman's body recovered from base of Cliffs of Moher

Patrick Flynn

The body of a woman has been recovered from the base of a cliff in Co Clare after she was seen falling to her death yesterday.

Naval divers were flown in to assist the Irish Coast Guard with the recovery operation this afternoon.

The alarm was raised shortly after 1.00pm yesterday when emergency services received a report of a woman falling from the cliff at the Cliffs of Moher.

Advertisement

It is understood the woman is a non-Irish national who had been living in Dublin.

The Doolin unit of the Coast Guard was alerted while the Shannon based helicopter Rescue 115 was also dispatched to the scene. Volunteer members of the Kilkee and Killaloe units of the Coast Guard were also sent to the area to assist.

The body was located on rocks close to the cliff face making it impossible for the helicopter crew to make a safe recovery.

The incoming tide prevented Coast Guard members from recovering the body, an operation that would have taken several hours.

Advertisement

A decision was made to secure the body above the waterline beneath the cliff and attempt a recovery today.

A team of divers from the Naval Service Diving Section was flown from Haulbowline in Cork to Doolin by the Irish Air Corps.

The body was recovered by the divers and members of the Coast Guard and taken to Doolin station. The body was later removed to University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem will be carried out.

Gardaí have confirmed that they are treating the death as a personal tragedy and that they will prepare a file for a coroner’s inquest which will be held at a later date

Advertisement

The operation was coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.

Advertisement