Dún Laoghaire RNLI rescues four people aboard motor vessel on fire

The volunteer crew launched the inshore lifeboat at 3.51pm at the request of the Irish Coast Guard. The lifeboat was helmed by Paul Cummins with crew members Ciara Doran and Simon Wall onboard.

The lifeboat reached the casualty vessel within minutes - and a quick decision was made to bring all four sailors onboard. The time taken between pagers sounding and the rescue was 13 minutes. The cabin of the casualty vessel was engulfed in flames five minutes after passengers were brought aboard.

After a preliminary casualty care check was carried out, the lifeboat returned to Dún Laoghaire Lifeboat Station, with the crew bringing the casualties ashore to be passed into the care of waiting paramedics.

Before leaving the scene, Dún Laoghaire RNLI's inshore lifeboat crew alerted the Coast Guard that the burning vessel was drifting towards an anchored tanker. The tanker weighed anchor and cleared away from the path of the burning vessel.

The all-weather lifeboat, Anna Livia, launched under Coxswain Stuart Kane and with crew members Hazel Rea, Rory Bolton and Kieran O'Connell onboard, and arrived on scene to take over from the inshore lifeboat. The crew monitored the condition and location of the floating burning vessel until the arrival of a tugboat with firefighting capabilities from Dublin Port arrived. The lifeboat was stood down when the vessel was no longer a danger to anything in its surroundings.

Speaking following the call out, Dun Laoghaire RNLI Helm Paul Cummins said: 'The skipper on the boat had acted responsibly and followed correct safety procedures, prioritising the safety of his passengers in this difficult situation.'

Shore crew today included James Traynor and Jay Farrelly.

Ends

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For more information, please contact Aoife Ward, Dún Laoghaire RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 085 140 2472, email: [email protected] or contact Nuala McAloon RNLI Regional Communications Manager Ireland on 0876483547 or email [email protected] or Niamh Stephenson RNLI Regional Communications Lead on 0871254124 or [email protected].

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