This article is from page 4 of the 2012-03-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE Killaloe Search and Rescue service have put emergency procedures in place to allow them to continue to patrol Lough Derg, despite the theft of two engines last week.
The theft, which was yesterday described by rescue service founder Tony O’Brien as a “crime against the whole community”, took place late on Wednesday night last in Killaloe. A group of thieves made away with two 90-horsepower Honda engines, each of which is worth € 15,000.
“It is devastating to think that people would go so low as to take equipment that could be used in a rescue operation. This is more than a theft from a person, this is a theft from the whole community. These engines were funded and paid for by the communities of Killaloe and Ballina and that makes it so, so disappointing,” said Mr O’Brien.
“We are a resilient group and we have put in place emergency procedure so we will be able to respond if there is an emergency. But these two engines will have to be replaced. I don’t know how we will do that.”
It is understood that the people involved in the theft were aware that the engines being stolen belonged to the volunteer rescue service.
“There is no question that they knew. The boat is quite clearly marked and the people who did this crime knew exactly who they were taking this from and what they were doing. It is sad that people would stoop this low,” continued Tony. “This is stealing material that would help to safe someone’s life down the line. If the people involved do find their conscience, if they leave the engines, someone we will go and collect them.”
The theft was also criticised by local Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) who described the theft as “outrageous”.
“It is awful what happened. Crime is getting bad out here in East Clare. It is simply outrageous. To take something like this from a voluntary group and put lives at risk in the process is just outrageous,” said Joe.
Anyone with information on the theft is asked to ring the gardaí in Killaloe on 061 620540.