Four fishermen have been rescued by the RNLI after their trawler got into difficulty off the Co Cork coast.
The men were making their way from Dinish Wharf to Castletownbere Harbour when their vessel hit a post inside the harbour.
The trawler began to quickly take on water and the fishermen got into difficulty.
Castletownbere RNLI’s volunteer crew were returning from a routine training exercise and were tying up their lifeboat when the call for help came in at 8.45pm on Wednesday.
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The lifeboat arrived at the scene in two minutes.
One of the fishermen had taken to a life raft while the other three remained on board.
After all four were taken on board the lifeboat, the RNLI crew tried to pump the water off the trawler. But they were hampered by the intensity of the water coming on board and the vessel sank within 15 minutes.
The fishermen were then returned to Castletownbere Harbour.
Brendan O’Driscoll of Castletownbere RNLI Launch Authority said: “With the fishing vessel taking on water rapidly, we are glad that we were able to be on scene as quickly as we were.
“We would like to commend the fishermen for having a means of communication to be able to raise the alarm.
“That is always so important, particularly when time is of the essence.”
