Seven rescue from Lough Derg as boat began taking on water

Pat Flynn

Seven people had a lucky escape on Monday afternoon after their boat began to take on water off the Clare shore on Lough Derg.

The alarm was raised shortly after 2pm when watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) on Valentia Island in Co Kerry received a Mayday call reporting that a vessel with seven people on board was taking on water close to Mountshannon, Co Clare.

The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat and Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115, were alerted and requested to respond to the incident.

While making their way to the scene, search crews received an update from Valentia MRSC confirming that all seven people had been evacuated from the boat and safely taken on board another vessel.

It was confirmed they were all safe and well after being taken to safety at Mountshannon Harbour.

Once it was confirmed that all the passengers were accounted for and unharmed, Rescue 115 was stood down.

An RNLI volunteer transferred across to the vessel and noted it had significant water on board. The electrics were still on but he was unable to access them, and there was no evidence of a fuel leak.

The lifeboat helm requested that he deploy the vessel’s anchor and return to the lifeboat.

The Killaloe Coast Guard rescue boat crew then travelled to Mountshannon Harbour where they met with a shore team who had been deployed to the scene by road. Coast Guard volunteers met the owner of the vessel at Mountshannon.

When it was confirmed that no further assistance was required, the Coast Guard volunteers were stood down and returned to base over two hours after first being mobilised.

Monday’s incident was the latest in a series of calls to rescue services on Lough Derg in recent days.

Killaloe Coast Guard volunteers were tasked to three incidents, including two in the space of 24 hours, while Lough Derg RNLI answered two calls during the same period.