Almost 120 civilian ‘walkers’ logged in with Garda incident control, with another 100 estimated on the scene. Scores of uniformed Civil Defence and Coast Guard volunteers are coordinating a coastal search with RNLI assets, kayakers and private boats.
Waterford-based Rescue 117 was tasked with assisting the search, as fog has grounded Shannon and Sligo aircraft.
Conditions remained “challenging” according to a garda spokesman. “We continue to provide our support to the loved ones of the missing young woman, and would like to thank the community in Galway, the local community in particular, for their care and assistance over the past 24 hours,” he said.
The alarm was raised for the female swimmer at Silver Strand, aged in her 30s and hailing from the west of the county, as emergency services searched for another swimmer reported missing at the same beach earlier in the morning. The body of well-known singer Johnny Duhan (74 ) was discovered at Rusheen on Tuesday afternoon, and recovered by boat to Galway docks.
The missing woman’s car and footwear have been found. Her family members remained at the scene yesterday evening.
Limited, 25m visibility in heavy coastal mist on Tuesday hampered search efforts. Conditions improved marginally to 50m visibility on Wednesday afternoon, but a Status Yellow fog warning kept search helicopters grounded. Conditions worsened approaching dusk.
Civil Defence and Coast Guard officers say camera equipment on their low-level drones is piercing the gloom, and calm sea conditions allows some visibility to sandy seabed in shallow water. Drones cannot cover sea-space as efficiently as airborne assets, and must be conservative about range based on battery charge in cold, moist air.
Gardaí are trying to determine exactly how the double tragedy unfolded, and have appealed to anyone who visited Silver Strand on Tuesday morning to contact them. So far no one has provided a first-hand, witness account, and the popular swimming spot is considered likely to have been almost empty on a Tuesday morning in November.
Social media postings have suggested one swimmer may have come to the aid of the other in distress, and disorientation due to fog created a calamity. A specific type of post mortem examination may yield clues to the mystery, according to informed sources.
No 999 calls were made concerning people seen in difficulty in the water, and concerns were raised only when the missing, early-morning swimmers failed to return home, or attend work.
The search, unofficially considered a recovery operation, remains underway. Fog on Galway Bay is expected to lift mid-morning on Friday.
