TEN PEOPLE were rescued from a sinking trawler off the west coast of Co Clare yesterday.
A major rescue operation was launched shortly after 10am after the captain of the 40m French registered trawler Koaxiissued a mayday call and reported that his boat was on fire and sinking. The boat was 48km west of Loop Head at the time.
Efforts by the Spanish crew to tackle the engine room fire were futile and they decided to abandon the vessel as it began to list to one side. The crew donned their life jackets and prepared to abandon ship.
Valentia Coast Guard Radio, which co-ordinated the operation, relayed the mayday call to other fishing vessels in the area as well as alerting the Shannon and Sligo-based Irish Coast Guard helicopters. The Shannon helicopter was already airborne and on its way to a training exercise when it was diverted to the scene.
The Fenit lifeboat was also sent to the incident.
The Koaxisank about three hours after the crew of 10 had been taken to safety by the Concerto, another French-registered fishing vessel with a Spanish crew. The Concertoarrived less than an hour after the alarm was raised.
While two rescue helicopters were sent to the incident, the crew of the boat had been taken to safety and both helicopters were stood down.
Valentia Coast Guard enlisted the assistance of a fluent Spanish speaker whom they patched through to the Concerto in an effort to ascertain the circumstances. The Naval Service ship LÉ Aoifealso arrived on the scene at lunchtime.