Two people had a lucky escape yesterday after their dinghy capsized at sea and they were washed up on the shoreline.
The pair had launched the small dinghy from a charter boat that had been sightseeing along the Cliffs of Moher south of Hags Head in Co Clare.
The crew of the boat called the Irish Coast Guard reporting that the dinghy, with two people on board, was after capsizing close to shore at Lough na Saggart.
Volunteers from the Doolin unit of the volunteer service were alerted and requested to respond the incident.
In the meantime, the two occupants of the dinghy, both of whom were wearing flotation devices, were carried by the tide on the shoreline. It’s understood that the small craft capsized when it was hit by a wave.
The Doolin Coast Guard team launched their two rescue boats and raced to the location.
The crew of the one of the boats soon located the pair and went ashore to check whether they had been injured. Both persons were confirmed to have been unharmed.
Rescuers took the pair on board and transferred them back to the charter boat where they changed into dry clothes. Neither required any medical assistance.
The D-Class rescue boat then returned to the shore to recovere the damaged dinghy and returned that to the charter boat also.
A Coast Guard spokesman said: “We were alerted by Shannon Coast Guard Radio after a dinghy was reported to have capsized south of Hags Head. We launched both or Delta and D-Class boats and proceeded to the location.”
“We reached the scene and confirmed that both persons had made it ashore and were uninjured. We returned them to their charter boat where they changed into dry clothing,” the spokesman added.