Four fishermen rescued off Donegal coast by Arranmore lifeboat

FOUR fishermen were rescued this morning off the coast of Killybegs after their 70-foot boat got into difficulty.

The Arranmore lifeboat was deployed to the scene, six miles from Killybegs.

Due to the size of the vessle in difficulty and after heavy winds, which broke the tow rope, it took four hours before the fishing boat was safely back in Killybegs.

The boat was on its way from Killybegs to Greencastle at the time.

The alarm was raised by the crew just before 7 o’clock this morning.

The all-weather lifeboat, under Jimmy Early, was launched to the scene, around an hour-and-a-half from Arranmore.

A sell of up to a metre-and-a-half combined with a strong wind resulted in a breakage in the tow rope.

Speaking following the call out, Tony Ward, Arranmore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘The fishermen did the right thing this morning and called for assistance when they started to encounter difficulties.

“Weather conditions made the tow challenging but using their skills and training, our lifeboat crew were able to get the line re-established and bring the men safely to shore.”