A CROSSHAVEN LIFEBOAT crew rescued four people from a rigid inflatable boat that ran aground last night in Lough Mahon in Co Cork.
The RNLI say that they received reports shortly after 10pm that the boat had run aground north of Hop Island.
A three man volunteer lifeboat crew was then dispatched to the Lough Man area.
The boat was eventually located on mud banks between the main shipping channel and the Douglas river channel after it had fired distress flares and turned on navigation lights.
The lifeboat crew had to slowly work their way up the unlit channel until they were within a hundred metres of the stricken boat.
The RNLI say that one crew member then successfully attempted to swim on his back across the mud with a tow line to the casualty vessel where he medically assessed all the casualties.
One of them was cold and wet after initially entering the mud to push the vessel off.
The RNLI crew then waited until enough water was under the casualty boat to haul it off the mud.
Two of the casualties were then transferred to the lifeboat and both vessels were brought back to Crosshaven RNLI station at 1.45am.
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