The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard Unit has had a busy start to the bank holiday weekend responding to three calls in the past 24 hours.
At around 5.00pm yesterday, the unit was requested to launch to assist two people on board a power boat that experienced engine difficulty off the Clare shore of Lough Derg.
On arrival at the casualty vessel, a Coast Guard crew member was transferred to the boat but was unable to restart the engine. The vessel was taken on tow back to Killaloe where it was safely moored with the help of a shore team.
Soon after team members had returned to their base at Pier Head they were again requested to launch and assist An Garda Síochána. Members of the public had contacted Gardaí in Killaloe to report that a number of jetskis were speeding in the area and there was concerns for the safety of swimmers.
Assistance was provided and at 8pm the team was stood down and returned to base.
Earlier today, the Killaloe Coast Guard unit was tasked for a 3rd time in just 24 hours.
At 1:30pm the crew launched to assist a broken down cruiser between Killaloe bridge and Parteen Weir.
On arrival at the scene, all on board were found safe and well and wearing life jackets. The causality vessel was taken on tow back to Killaloe where it was safely moored.
A Coast Guard spokesperson said: “Please stay safe for the remainder of this Bank holiday weekend and remember if you see someone in difficulty call 112/999 and ask for the Coast Guard.”
All three operations were coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.