Two men airlifted to safety in latest rescue operation
Two fishermen were rescued tonight after their boat sank off the southern coast, only miles from where seven men lost their lives when two trawlers went down last week.
Trawler The Renegade began taking on water six miles east of Tuskar Rock, Co Wexford, and the Coastguard received a mayday call at 5.10pm.
The two men made it into a life raft and kept in radio contact until Rosslare Lifeboat and the Coastguard helicopter from Waterford arrived at the scene.
A Coastguard spokesman said the pair, who were winched to safety shortly before 6pm, were lucky to have escaped with their lives.
“The vessel has gone. It’s sunk. But the pair are OK. They were taken to Waterford hospital just to be checked over,” he said.
“They knew what was happening and were able to get into the life raft and keep in contact. But they were still lucky.”
It was not immediately clear what sparked the emergency as conditions were a lot calmer than last week’s rough seas.
Last Wednesday night, coastal communities in the region were left devastated after two trawlers went down within a few hours of each other near Hook Head, Co Wexford, and Mine Head, Co Waterford.
The Pere Charles sank in seconds two and a half miles from shore as the five-man crew prepared to put back into harbour. It is believed their bodies are trapped on board but dive teams have been unable to reach the vessel due to bad weather and strong sea currents.
The Honey Dew II disappeared a few hours later as the skipper tried to shelter from atrocious weather conditions, but it was not reported missing for almost 20 hours.
It is believed it was hit by a 45ft wave.
Two Lithuanian men survived the sinking, taking to a life raft before being picked up by a Coastguard helicopter 17 hours later. The skipper and a Polish crewman are missing.
