A man who had been described as being in a serious condition after a boat capsized off Aughris Head in west Sligo at the weekend is recovering well.
On Sunday last, eight people were rescued by the Sligo Bay RNLI Lifeboat. They were aided in their efforts by the Rescue 118 helicopter.
At approximately 11.25 on Sunday morning, the RNLI was tasked by the Coast Guard to rescue divers from the Leitrim Sub-aqua Diving Club off the Aughris coast following a mayday.
The vessel had capsized with all eight people onboard.
Luckily, the volunteer lifeboat crew with Sligo Bay RNLI had just launched on exercise when they were diverted to the incident and arrived on scene at 11.43am.
The lifeboat crew rescued all eight people from the water and one man was airlifted to hospital by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118.
It is understood that this man is recovering well. On Sunday, the man was described as being in a serious condition.
The remaining seven men were taken to Aughris Pier where one person was taken by ambulance to hospital. Following the rescue the lifeboat crew returned to the scene to tow the vessel back to the pier.
Given the events of the last week which have seen ongoing efforts in the search for the crew from Rescue 116 off the Mayo Coast, Sligo Bay RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Willie Murphy praised the professionalism of the RNLI and Coast Guard with the rescue operation.
“In what has been a difficult week with the loss of Rescue 116 and the ongoing search for her crew, this morning’s callout shows that the professionalism and dedication of the search and rescue community remains unchanged,” he said.
