A MAN HAS died after a boat capsized close to the Saltee Islands off the Wexford Coast last night.
A total of 10 people were taken from the water after being left floating there for up to five hours when their leisure boat overturned in choppy waters.
The group are understood to have been fishing for the day but the alarm was raised when one of their friends told Kilmore Quay RNLI that they had not returned to shore.
Coast guard units from Kilmore Quay and Dunmore East as well as RNLI rescuers from Fethard-on-Sea and Kilmore Quay were all involved in the rescue operation.
The Saltee Islands passenger ferry, the An Crossan, crewed by three Kilmore Quay RNLI lifeboat members also joined in the search.
The RNLI says that the rescuers heard shouting from the sea when the vessel’s search light went out temporarily. All 10 of those in the water had been wearing lifejackets.
The crew of the An Crossan pulled all 10 people from the water and onto the ferry. One man who was in need of urgent medical attention was immediately transferred to the lifeboat which was alongside two minutes later.
He was was then winched to the Rescue 117 helicopter and was transferred to University Hospital Waterford but was later pronounced dead.
The nine other people were transferred to Kilmore Quay on the passenger ferry where they were given medical attention before being transferred to Wexford General Hospital.
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