Civil Defence News Archive
Regional Water Search and Boat Exercise Took Place on 17th February - Meath Civil Defence hosted a regional water search and boat exercise in Navan on Sunday 17th February.
Date Released: 19 February 2008
Regional Water Search and Boat Exercise
Meath Civil Defence hosted a regional water search and boat exercise in Navan on Sunday 17th February.
The exercise took place on the River Boyne/Blackwater between the new bridge on the Dublin Rd. and the ramparts and involved Civil Defence boat teams from counties Louth, Monaghan as well as Meath. The local Meath River Rescue team provided a safety boat as part of the exercises. Members of the Coastguard and the Gardaí attended the exercise during the day.
Boats exercising on River Boyne
Brian, Caroline & new boat team member
Hanging around waiting for the ferry
Holding steady while taking winch-man onboard
Winching casualty from the river
The exercises commenced at 9.30 a.m. and continued until 4.00 p.m. The teams were exercises in various scenarios including First Aid and casualty transport from the river bank to a safe landing point, a search scenario involving a group of kayakers, recovery of an abseiler from the railway viaduct and the dismantling and reassembly of an inflatable boat. In the afternoon a member of each boat crew formed a search management team based at the Civil Defence control vehicle to co-ordinate the boats in a combined search exercise.
A large number of the public viewed the exercises during the day from vantage points along the N3.
