Car in water prank condemned

Car prank condemned


Neill O’Neill

MEMBERS of the emergency services in Westport have condemned as foolish and dangerous the actions of several people last Friday night, when a car was pushed off the pier at Westport Quay.
Some time during the early hours of Saturday morning the red Nissan Micra was pushed across the road from a car park beside the pond, through a chain barrier, and into the tide. A full-scale search and rescue operation was then launched on Saturday morning, when a passer-by alerted the Gardaí that a car was submerged.
Unsure if anybody was inside, Coast Guard divers went down to the vehicle and with members of the Gardaí, Fire Brigade and dozens of on-lookers standing on the pier, they confirmed that it was empty. The divers then attached the wire from the winch on the front of the fire engine to the car, and it was pulled to the edge of the pier where a strap was attached to it.
A teleporter from Mulchrone’s Plant Hire then arrived, and aided by members of the Fire Brigade and Coast Guard personnel on board their in-shore craft, the car was lifted from the water and was removed from the scene by a recovery truck.
The entire operation consumed almost two hours of time for the Fire Brigade and Coast Guard volunteers, while Gardaí had to remain at the scene until the potentially dangerous recovery operation was completed. The sea was also heavily polluted by the oil and fuel from the car afterwards.
A Garda spokesperson confirmed yesterday (Monday), that the car was registered to a foreign national who has long since left the area, and said the incident was an act of extreme stupidity which needlessly occupied the emergency services and could have had serious implications for anyone who did need assistance from them on Saturday morning.