Five crew members rescued by Coast Guard after fishing vessel gets into difficulty off Aran Islands

Stock image of Irish Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter

Five crew members of a fishing vessel were rescued in the early hours of Sunday morning after it ran aground on Inis Mór, on the Aran Islands.

Valentia Coast Guard received an emergency call shortly before 5am after a 21-metre fishing vessel had ran aground.

The Shannon-based Coast Guard Helicopter R115, Aran Islands lifeboat, and North Aran Coast Guard Unit were all tasked to the scene and all five crew members were successfully rescued.

The five crew members had initially abandoned the vessel into a life raft but were subsequently winched to safety and transferred to University Hospital Galway by helicopter.

All of the crew are reported to be in good spirits following the episode.

A statement issued by the Irish Coast Guard read: “Shortly before 5am this morning Valentia Coast Guard received an emergency call from a 21-metre fishing vessel reporting that it was aground on the northern side of Inis Mór, on the Aran Islands.

“Shannon-based Coast Guard Helicopter R115, Aran Islands lifeboat, and North Aran Coast Guard Unit were all tasked to the scene.

“All five crew initially abandoned the vessel into a life raft. They were subsequently winched to safety by R115 with the Aran Islands life boat standing by and were transferred to University Hospital Galway by R115.

“The five-person crew were reported to be in good spirits after their ordeal.”

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