Teen lifted to safety after 100-ft rescue in Castlerock
Girl got trapped by rapidly moving tide
Last updated 25th Jul 2017
A 16-year-old girl has been rescued from the bottom of a 100-foot cliff in Castlerock.
It is thought she got trapped there after the tide came in quickly while she was had been walking initially with another girl and two boys last evening.
The other girl swam to safety and raised the alarm at a nearby house.
A major rescue operation then swung into operation involving the Coleraine and Ballycastle rescue teams, Portrush lifeboats and RNLI lifeguards from the beach at Castlerock.
The teenager had been suffering from hyperthermia and had sustained cuts after she, too, tried to swim to safety.
Both girls were taken to hospital as a precaution
Speaking to Downtown & Cool FM, Coleraine Coastguard's Chris Little said it was a "very dangerous" situation the girl found herself in.
"Like all of the cliffs along the north coast the cliffs at Castlerock are very high – they are impossible to climb without proper equipment," he said
"There was no way she could rescue herself."
He added: "She had already tried to swim to safety and she had sustained a number of cuts and abrasions in the process and was now hyperthermic and exhausted
It is a very dangerous situation to find yourself in."