IN Bureau

In what can be aptly described as a miracle escape, an Irish man, 24 years old, was rescued off the coast of Kerry. He was surrounded by dolphins when he was rescued after a 12-hour ordeal.

The rescued person was identified later as Ruairi McSorley, the ‘frostbit boy’. It is a name which was given to him in 2015 after his video went viral.

It was the Fenit Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers who came to the rescue of McSorley on Sunday at 8.30 p.m.

Even though he was described as “hypothermic” by the officials, McSorley said that he was feeling “100 per cent” after his evacuation.

Talking to the Irish News he said: “The only thing was my kidneys needed to readjust, so there has been no serious harm. It was only a matter of going into the hospital to heat up a bit. Other than that, I was fine.”

What started the search for McSorely was the discovery of his clothes at Castlegregory beach. Alerted RNLI, launched a lifeboat from Fenit Harbour, their station, at around 12.40 p.,m. Besides the lifeboat, a helicopter was also pressed into service.

Following his rescue, he expressed his gratitude to the RNLI. Referring to them as incredible and professional he remarked: “They wrapped me up in the blankets and took my body temperature and everything and then just rushed me into the hospital.”

RNLI’s Gerard O’Donnell referred to McSorely as a “lucky individual” and his survival in the icy waters as a “miracle”. He was treated at the University Hospital Kerry and later discharged.

In 2015 McSorely became popular as the ‘frostbit guy’ when in an interview on television, talking about his mother not allowing him to miss school even for a day, he had said: “You wouldn’t be long getting frostbit.” He was sharing his thoughts on Northern Ireland’s biting winter weather.