A boat that suffered engine difficulty on the River Shannon near Killaloe had to be towed to safety by the Irish Coast Guard this evening.
The alarm was raised around 7.30pm when watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry were alerted to the incident.
A powerboat with a number of people on board was reported to have suffered engine difficulties about 1 kolonetre South of Killaloe Bridge.
A Coast Guard boat crew launched from their base at Pier Head Killaloe and was alongside the casualty vessel by 7.50pm. On reaching the powerboat, Coast Guard personnel found that all on board were safe and well and wearing their life jackets.
The boat was taken on tow back to Killaloe where a shore team was already waiting to assist with the safe mooring of the vessel.
A Coast Guard spokesperson said afterwards: “It’s been a busy July so far with our volunteers responding to seven calls since July 1st.
We would remind the public, if you see someone in difficulty call 999/112 and ask for het Coast Guard. Boat users can also call the Coast Guard on Marine VHF radio Channel 16 in an emergency.”
