Four people were miraculously saved by a coast guard helicopter on Sunday after two girls were forced out to sea after falling off an inflatable dinghy.
The pair were playing with the toy at Silver Strand Beach in Wicklow when the tide dragged them out to sea.
Two men spotted that the girls were in need of help and went to rescue them but got into difficulty themselves.
The Wicklow RNLI deployed their Inshore Lifeboat and All Weather Lifeboat to the scene and was able to rescue all four of the swimmers from rocks.
The Dublin based Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 116 also aided the operation, hovering overhead until the group were safely on lifeboats.
A paramedic, who was winched down from the helicopter to evaluate the health of the swimmers, decided to transfer the two girls to Temple Street Hospital in Dublin.
They were then brought to Dublin Airport via helicopter and transferred to hospital while the two men were brought to the lifeboat station.
The Rescue 116 Irish Coastguard Search & Rescue Helicopter Facebook page posted footage of the rescue mission and had a warning for those going to beaches this summer.
¨A quick reminder that inflatable toys do not belong anywhere near the sea,¨ they said.
