Colm O'Reilly & Declan Walsh during a search & recovery training exercise today, Colm & Declan were the guides for the divers below navigating them whilst the divers carried out a line search on the river bed.Thanks to all who turned up on Saturday, the morning started at 9.30am and finished at a reasonable 1pm.
Three line searches were done, initially there was difficulty in keeping the line straight and running at right angle to the river bank, this was due to the fast flow and currents going under the bridges. Different ideas were tried and on the third run all went to plan. The RDO (regional diving officer) Brendan Flanagan had asked to take part in the training and afterwards had high praise for the Athlone SAR for its commitment and high standards. Declan Walsh and Colm O Reilly were rope tenders, Brendan Flanagan and Niall McHugh were the Anchor divers, Ciaran Kelly, Ollie Fallon, June Robbins and Cian Hynes were the divers on the line. Steward McMickan was coxan with Peter Chatterton assisting. Training continues every Saturday at 9.30.
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