Five crew members were rescued by the Irish Coast Guard after their fishing vessel ran aground on the northern side of Inis Mór, on the Aran Islands. The emergency call was received by the Valentia Coast Guard shortly before 5am this morning.
The 21-metre fishing vessel had five crew members on board who initially abandoned the vessel into a life raft. Shannon-based Coast Guard Helicopter R115, Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat, and North Aran Coast Guard Unit were all immediately dispatched to the scene to assist with the rescue operation.
The crew members were subsequently winched to safety by R115 with the Aran Islands lifeboat standing by. They were then transferred to University Hospital Galway for further medical evaluation.
Despite the ordeal, the five-person crew were reported to be in good spirits after receiving medical attention. The swift response of the Coast Guard teams was praised by local authorities and the community at large.
RNLI adds:
Aran Islands RNLI responded to a Mayday in the early hours of this morning (Sunday 3 March) to rescue the crew of a fishing vessel that had run aground. It was the second call out in two days for the station’s volunteers.
The all-weather crew were requested to launch their lifeboat at 4.51am by the Irish Coast Guard following a Mayday call from the crew of a fishing boat that had ran aground at An Coirnéal Port Eochla on the north side of Inis Mór. The lifeboat launched shortly after with six crew onboard.
In the 20 minutes it took to get to the scene, the fishing vessel had started to take on water and was beginning to list to the left. Arriving, the lifeboat crew observed that all five fishermen had abandoned their 21m trawler and were in a life raft alongside the vessel. All were safe and well and in good spirits.
Weather on scene at the time was blowing a force 5 north west wind which was easing and there was a moderate sea of 2m and good visibility.
The Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115 from Shannon was also tasked along with Coast Guard and Fire Service units to the shore side.
Having assessed the situation, a decision was made by Aran Islands RNLI Coxswain Declan Branigan to launch the lifeboat’s smaller daughter inflatable lifeboat should it be needed to access closer to shore. On arrival of Rescue 115, the situation was further assessed and it was agreed that the safest option was to winch the five fishermen to safety. The lifeboat stood by until all casualties were accounted for before returning to Kilronan Pier at 7.30am this morning.