Ten people rescued after cruise boat ran aground on Lough Derg
Ten people were rescued late yesterday after their cruise boat ran aground on Lough Derg in Co Clare,
The alarm was raised at around 5.30pm when the Irish Coast Guard received a report of a 40ft cruise boat on rocks north of the Scilly Islands.
The Killaloe based unit of the Irish Coast Guard and Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat stationed at Dromineer in Tipperary were alerted and launched.
On arrival at the scene, a Coast Guard volunteer boarded the casualty vessel to check whether it had been damaged. It was decided that those on board should be taken off the vessel before attempts to tow it to safety could be made.
The Killaloe Coast Guard team transferred all ten people, in two groups, to the RNLI lifeboat which then took them safely ashore at Mounthshannon in Clare.
All ten were unharmed and wearing their lifejackets and were met at the pier in Mounthshannon by a Coast Guard shore team.
Both the lifeboat and the Coast Guard RIB returned to the casualty vessel where a detailed inspection was carried out. The cruiser was safely taken off the rock shelf and towed by the Killaloe Coast Guard boat to Mountshannon where it was due to be inspected by an engineer.
The RNLI has reminded lake users to ensure they bring charts with them so they can identify the areas close to shore and islands that are marked as not navigable, particularly as water levels are relatively low on the lake at the moment.
