Nine passengers were stranded for several hours on an Aran Islands ferry last night, as divers worked to free a rope which had become caught in the propeller. The boat lost power at about 8.30 p.m., a quarter of a mile off Inis Oirr.
Divers were flown by helicopter from Doolin, Co Clare, and began working to free the vessel shortly before I a.m. The sea was calm and the boat, which was also carrying 60 cattle, was not thought to be in any danger.