Five adults and four children have been rescued by lifeboat crew from Red Bay RNLI after their vessel hit a submerged object this afternoon (Sunday, 17 July) and started taking on water, near Fair Head near Ballycastle.
Lifeboat crew from Red Bay RNLI in Cushendall were requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard at 12.50 pm. The volunteer lifeboat crew located the vessel, which was taking on water and took all nine people onboard the lifeboat.
The rescued group were taken to Ballycastle Harbour and delivered into the care of the local Coastguards before lifeboat crew returned to the vessel. Once back on scene, two volunteer lifeboat crew were transferred onto the craft with a salvage pump to staunch the ingress of water and once the vessel was deemed safe, it was towed to safety, to avoid it causing an obstruction at sea.
Paddy McLaughlin, Red Bay RNLI Coxswain said, ‘It was a very serious situation for the group, which included a number of children. Conditions were good for the callout, and we are relieved it was a good outcome for all involved.’
‘With the good weather set to continue, we would advise everyone who is planning a trip on the water to take a means of communication should they need to raise the alarm and to wear a personal flotation device.’
