Bundoran RNLI called to capsized vessel

The crew was alerted to the situation by Malin Head Coast Guard who had received a distress call around 1:20pm. The Bundoran Lifeboat was in the water within three minutes as the crew was still on station following their regular Sunday morning exercise.

Reaching the scene just after 1:45pm, the volunteer crew found that 4 people who had been on board the 16 foot vessel had been washed onto rocks on Inishmurray Island. the Sligo based Rescue 118 helicopter had also been tasked and spotted the casualties on the rocks. The helicopter then landed and airlifted the 4 casualties to Sligo.

Attempts were made by the lifeboat to recover the boat from the rocks however due to a 3 metre swell and the best attempts by the volunteer crew, a decision was taken to leave the casualty vessel in situ.

On the crew’s return to the station, volunteer helm Rory O’Connor said ‘the four casualties were lucky on this occasion and we are thankful that they alerted the Coast Guard when they did. This was another callout with a good outcome.’

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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