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RTE
A woman and a teenage girl have been found clinging to a lobster pot off the Irish coast after going missing for almost 15 hours while paddleboarding.
The pair, aged 17 and 23, were found alive by a fisherman, about 17 miles (27km) from where they first set out, the RNLI said.
They are well and being treated at University Hospital Galway, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
The pair went missing after setting out from a beach at Furbo, County Galway.
A major search operation began on Wednesday evening after the alarm was raised at 22:00 local time.
An air and sea search rescue began overnight and continued until their discovery.
The Irish coastguard and local volunteers were also involved.
Despite bad weather overnight, the pair, who had life buoys but no wetsuits, were found by the fisherman.
'Survived by not panicking'
The fisherman who found them told RTÉ that he was prepared to go as far as was necessary to rescue them because otherwise they would have drifted further out to sea.
Patrick Oliver and his son Morgan, 18, left the docks and headed west across the bay after he heard they were missing.
Mr Oliver was able to predict where they could be, by calculating the wind speed and direction.
"They travelled there about 20 miles from the beach to the side of Inis Oírr [one of the Aran Islands]," he said.
He also said he was "delighted for their parents" and he had thought about their "poor mother on the beach all night looking out for them".
He said the women had survived by not panicking, keeping their heads clear and by hanging on to a buoy.
'Little bit of chat'
"They were definitely in shock but the weather is warm so they were lucky," he said.
He said the pair were "waving their paddles up in the air" when they spotted the fishermen.
They gave the women oilskin jackets and hats to help them warm up after they were rescued.
He said they had been "weak and tired" but were able to sit up and make a "little bit of chat".
"They were in shock but they were thankful," he added.
"We got them in the boat and we brought them into the island and the chopper landed there."
Given their ordeal, they are said to be in a remarkably healthy condition but remain in hospital receiving treatment.
On social media, the coastguard thanked everyone who assisted.
Barry Heskin, from the RNLI, said tears were shed and his team was "jumping around the station" when news came back that the rescue had been successful.