Six people have been rescued from Lough Ree this evening.
The Lough Ree RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew brought six people to safety after it responded to a call out to a cruiser which was taking on water and listing badly north of Hare Island.
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The crew launched just after 4pm and reached the 34ft cruiser shortly afterwards.
On arrival at the scene the craft was discovered on the Hexagon Shoal, a rock formation near Hare Island.
Crew members boarded the stricken vessel and on inspection found that it had been holed, was taking on water and listing badly on the starboard side.
Under helm Stan Bradbury and fellow volunteer crew members Emmet Devereux, Liam Sheringham and Donal Herraghty the six casualties were transferred to the safety of the Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat ‘Tara Scougall.’
In relatively calm lake conditions the six people were taken to the jetty at Coosan Point. This evening (Thursday 24 June) the grounded vessel remains on the rocks pending safe recovery.
Jude Kilmartin, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Lough Ree RNLI advises boat users to ‘plan your passage, study your charts and don’t stray off the charted navigation routes.’
Today’s rescue brings to 30 the number of casualties the charity has assisted this month.
Last week (Friday 18 June) the volunteer lifeboat crew rescued two adults and a child in a boat stranded on rocks adjacent to today’s event.
