Two people were rescued from Lough Derg yesterday afternoon following a suspected engine fire on board their cruiser.
Lough Derg RNLI, based in Dromineer, went to the incident shortly after 2pm following reports that a fire had broken out as the cruiser was travelling from Ballina up the lake.
The lifeboat located the 31ft cruiser at anchor off Hare Island, off the County Clare shore. The passengers were safe and unharmed.
The skipper had cut his engine and dropped anchor when he noticed black smoke billowing from the engine. When the lifeboat arrived on scene, the engine was no longer issuing smoke and the situation had settled.
With an RNLI crew member on board, the cruiser was taken under tow to the public harbour at Dromineer.
Meanwhile, Lough Derg RNLI rescued five Indian tourists from a cruiser that ran aground on rocks near Illaunmore, off Whitegate,on Sunday last.
The lifeboat located the vessel at 12.47pm and found all passengers to be safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets. The lifeboat transferred an RNLI volunteer across to the cruiser, where he inspected the boat, and once satisfied that it was not holed he prepared the boat to be taken off the rocks.
However when the casualty vessel was found to be stuck fast on the rocks, the lifeboat crew decided to take the five passengers and their belongings to Dromineer. Meanwhile RNLI volunteer shore crew made arrangements to have the boat lifted off the rocks.
Pat Garland, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station, advises boat users to “enjoy the lake, but make sure you stay on the navigation route, well clear of the shoreline”.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.