A woman is in critical condition in hospital after getting into difficulty while swimming in the River Shannon in County Westmeath.
The alarm was raised shortly before 7pm yesterday evening.
The swimmer, believed to be in her mid-40’s appeared in difficulty at an area known as the Golden Mile near Athlone town.
The Irish Coast Guard contacted Lough Ree RNLI who arrived at the scene at 7.18pm.
The crew quickly located the woman with the help of the Athlone Sub-Aqua Club and began carrying out “casualty care” before transferring her to the Irish Coast Guard helicopter, which took her to University Hospital Galway.
Sarah Bradbury, Lough Ree RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer said: “All at Lough Ree RNLI would like to extend their best wishes to the swimmer for a speedy recovery.
“While we may be experiencing some warmer weather at the moment, we would remind everyone planning on enjoying the River Shannon and Lough Ree that the water temperature is still very cold.”
