Boy (9) escapes after horror river fall

B JOANNE LITTLE, Drogheda Independent - Friday October 3rd 2003

A NINE-year-old boy was lucky to escape with just minor injuries after he fell 15 feet onto the banks of the RiverBoyne last week.

The young boy was sitting on the wail just north of St Dominick's Bridge, Drogheda on Friday night just after 9pm when he slipped and fell. Fortunately for the youngster the tide was out and, instead of entering the water, he was left stranded on the river bank.

The Boyne Fishermen Rescue and Recovery Service (BFRRS), who had just left the river where they were removing old trolleys, were called to the scene to rescue the stranded and distressed young boy. Michael Hodgins of BFRRS said that the boy was very lucky' to escape from'. his experience without serous injury.

Our pagers went off at about 9pm on Friday night, literally minutes after we had returned from our day on the river. We were told that a kid had fallen from a wall near Dominick's Bridge,' said Mr Hodgins.

The BFRRS boats were immediately launched and were able to take the young boy to safety within minutes.

'It Was low tide and the boy was cut off at the riverbank. It was a good drop of about 14 or 15ft but he got no more than a few scratches and a shock,' said the BFRRS spokesperson.

© Drogheda Independent