A lone fisherman was brought to safety this evening after the engine on his dinghy failed in the Shannon Estuary.
The alarm was raised at around 7.30pm by a person on the shore at Kilbaha in Co Clare. It was reported that a dinghy was drifted in the Shannon Estuary south of the west Clare village.
Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted a rescue operation, tasking the Kilrush RNLI lifeboat and Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter.
As Rescue 115 made its way to the scene, the lifeboat crew located the dinghy about one nautical mile (1.8kms) south of Kilbaha. The one man on board was wearing a lifejacket and was unharmed. The rescue helicopter continued to the scene while the lifeboat took the dinghy on tow to Kilbaha.
Once the man was safely ashore and it was confirmed the didn’t require and further help, the operation was stood down.
Kilrush Lifeboat Press Officer Charlie Glynn said: “As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift and more people are taking to the water, we would urge the public to always keep an eye on their friends and family  and call 112/999 and ask for the Coast Guard in an emergency at the coast. We would always much rather launch and find that all is well than not launch at all.”
