Nine people have been taken to safety after their boat ran aground on Lough Derg this afternoon while a second boat was prevented from running onto the same rocks.
The 40-foot cruise boat got into difficulty around 2pm at Ryan’s Point inside the Mountaineer market buoy.
The Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat launched and travelled to the scene.
Efforts to tow the cruiser to deeper water were unsuccessful so all nine people on board were forced to abandon their vessel and were transferred to the lifeboat.
While the lifeboat was making its way back to its base at Dromineer the crew was diverted back to the scene of the original incident after another boat almost ran aground on the same rocks.
The Irish Coast Guard marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry, who mounted the rescue effort, was requested to warn other vessels in the area that the cruise boat was aground.
Lifeboat Operations Manager, Liam Maloney advises all boat users to ‘stay within the navigation channels on the lake, and to study your charts before setting out from port’. ‘This fine weather is to stay with us a while longer’, he continued, ‘remember to respect the water and think safety when in or around water’.