Two divers, a man and a woman, have been rescued in Dublin Bay after they were swept miles away from their dive site by the incoming tide.
The pair had been with a group diving off the Muglins Rock near Dalkey Island when they failed to return to the surface as planned.
The Irish Coastguard launched an immediate search operation.
About 30 minutes after the initial call, the lifeboat spotted the two casualties together on the surface. The divers had been swept a mile and a half north of the original dive site by the incoming tide.
They were rescued by the RNLI lifeboat from Dun Laoghaire.
The Irish Naval Service vessel LE Aoife, the Irish Coastguard's Rescue Helicopter from Dublin Airport and the Dun Laoghaire Coastguard unit also responded to the alert.
Neither diver was injured in the incident.
"This incident could easily have been a tragedy,"said Stephen Wynne, RNLI lifeboat operations manager at Dun Laoghaire.
"Fortunately the correct procedure was followed in raising the alarm early enough."
