Fishermen rescued from blazing boat
Five people were rescued from the sea tonight in two separate incidents.
Four fishermen had to abandon their boat, The Emerald Isle, for a life raft off the coast of Cork after a fierce blaze broke out at 4pm.
The Irish Coastguard scrambled a helicopter from Shannon but a nearby fishing boat, the Holly Joe, which was off Galley Head, picked up the crew within 14 minutes and brought them ashore to Castletownbere Harbour.
The Navy ship, the LE Eithne, was also called to the scene.
“It has reported that the fire is nearly out. The ship is still floating but the blaze went from stem to stern. It may not be worth salvaging,” said a coastguard spokesman.
The coastguard helicopter was then diverted to answer a mayday signal from a Kerry fisherman, whose boat began taking water at 5pm near Smerwick Harbour on the Dingle Peninsula.
The man had to dive into the water when the boat sank and clung to a life raft.
He was rescued within seven minutes by a nearby fishing boat.
Both operations were co-ordinated by the Marine Rescue Sub-Centre at Valencia in Kerry.
