Lifeboat volunteers rescue two off Clare coast and airlift ill fisherman off Galway

By Patrick Flynn

Two people have been rescued after their boat got into difficulty while another person has been airlifted from a trawler off the west coast this afternoon.

In the first incident, the Kilrush RNLI lifeboat in Co Clare was alerted to a broken down boat shortly before 11.30am today.

The Irish Coast Guard had received a call about a boat in difficulty in Kilbaha Bay.

An 8 metre (26ft) RIB (rigid inflatable boat), with two people on board, was reported to have suffered engine failure and left drifting at sea.

The lifeboat travelled more than 25 kilometres from their base near Kilrush to reach the scene.

RNLI volunteers checked to ensure the occupants were unharmed before taking the boat on tow back to the marina in Kilrush where they arrived shortly before 2.30pm.

Meanwhile, the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter has carried out a long-range mission to airlift an ill crew member from an Irish fishing vessel off the west coast.

The trawler was about 150kms west of the Aran Islands when the skipper alerted the Irish Coast Guard.

The 54-year-old Spanish fisherman was successfully winched from the deck of the trawler at around 2pm and has been flown to University Hospital Galway for treatment for a suspected brain haemorrhage.

Both operations were co-ordinated by the Irish Coast Guard marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.