10 rescued as two cruisers run aground

TEN PEOPLE had to be rescued when two cruisers ran aground on Lough Derg in Co Tipperary.

The cruisers were travelling in tandem when one crew misread navigation charts and strayed into extremely shallow water near Goat Road on the northeastern side of the lake on Saturday morning.

The first cruiser, with seven people on board, ran aground. The other vessel, with three on board, was standing by, but was also in danger of being grounded as both vessels were in very shallow water.

The lifeboat at Lough Derg came to the rescue of the crews following an alert from Valentia Coast Guard.

A local fisherman in a lake boat had stayed with the cruisers until the lifeboat arrived.

The lifeboat crew ordered four people who were in the water inspecting the stern of the boat to get back on board and put on their life jackets.

The cruiser was guided off the rocks and back into the navigation channel and the vessel was found to be undamaged.

A spokeswoman for local lifeboat Eleanor Hooker, which was involved in the rescue, said straying out of the navigation channel was a “very simple error” in parts of Lough Derg. “If people are not accustomed to the lake, it can be very disorientating. You must stick to the navigation channel at all times.”