RNLI carries out dramatic rescue of six men on Lough Ree

The RNLI Lough Ree lifeboat service completed a dramatic rescue of six men from a sinking cruiser south of Athlone yesterday (Tuesday).

The lifeboat service, which is manned by a team of volunteers from the Athlone area, launched at 12.08pm.

The sinking vessel was reported to have struck an object under the water and was holed and taking in water.

When the lifeboat arrived on scene, the crew moved quickly to take the six men, believed to be in their twenties, off the sinking cruiser.

The lifeboat crew took the first three men off the vessel and brought them the short distance to Athlone before returning to take the remaining three off the vessel.

With all six men safely ashore, the lifeboat crew returned to the scene and found that the vessel was submerged with only the bow visible out of the water.

They alerted the Coast Guard and Waterways Ireland to issue a warning to other marine traffic in the area before returning to the lifeboat station.

Commenting on the rescue, Lough Ree RNLI operations manager Damien Delaney said: “I am relieved that all six people onboard the cruiser were recovered safely as the water was coming in quickly. All the men remained calm and listened to the instructions from the lifeboat crew, which resulted in a safe and speedy evacuation with nobody injured.”