A massive 36ft motor cruiser had to be rescued from the water in Lough Derg by the RNLI, with four people successfully brought back to shore.
On Monday, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to assist four people on a 36ft motor cruiser with engine failure.
Valentia Coast Guard informed the RNLI volunteers that the casualty vessel was at a location west of the scenic Corakeen Islands in Dromineer Bay and that the skipper had dropped the anchor to prevent drift.
READ MORE: Irish Coast Guard and RNLI attended 1,100 incidents so far in 2022
The skipper of a passing 45ft cruiser had taken the casualty vessel under tow and when the lifeboat arrived on scene at 8.10pm, both vessels were underway and making way through the Urra Channel.
All four people on the casualty vessel were safe and unharmed, and the skipper of the towing vessel, with nine people on board, told the lifeboat that he was happy to continue the tow to Dromineer Harbour
Aoife Kennedy, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI, has advised boat users to ‘ensure your vessel is serviced and in safe working order and if you find yourself in difficulty on the lake dial 999 or 112 and ask for marine rescue’.
The Irish Coast Guard and RNLI have been tasked to over 1,100 incidents so far this year.
The Coast Guard co-ordinated the response to 1,500 incidents including inland, coastal and offshore, with volunteer units attending more than 1,100 incidents.
One was the rescue of a lone yachtsman from an overturned boat yacht 70 miles off the south-west coast.
Minister for Transport Hildegarde Naughton thanked all the search and rescue services, particularly volunteers, and also urged the public to be aware of the importance of water safety.
Ms Naughton said 40% of the population live within five kilometres of the coast but the majority of drownings happen inland.
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