Five people, including two children, rescued by RNLI after equipment failure off Co Down coast

A 36ft yacht with five people onboard, including two children, had reported that their equipment had failed and they were drifting, five miles east of Ardglass. Credit: RNLI

Five people, including two children, have been rescued by the RNLI after their equipment failed off the Co Down coast.

Newcastle RNLI’s lifeboat crew launched both their all-weather and inshore lifeboats on Wednesday at 3.08pm following a request from HM coastguard.

A 36ft yacht with five people onboard, including two children, had reported that their equipment had failed and they were drifting, five miles east of Ardglass.

On arrival at the scene the lifeboat crew observed that the casualty vessel was in fact two miles west of St John’s Point and was in danger of drifting onto rocks.

In a statement, the RNLI confirmed that lifeboat crew checked on the welfare of those onboard, some of whom was showing signs of fatigue and sea sickness, and that a decision was made that the lifeboat would bring the vessel under tow to the safety of Newcastle Harbour.

The RNLI’s inshore lifeboat was requested to provide support on the last part of the journey and to tow the vessel into harbour.

The yacht was then towed into Newcastle harbour where it was secured and all on board brought ashore and to the lifeboat station, where the crew were able to provide casualty care.

Newcastle coastguard team were also on scene to provide care and paramedics attended the scene.

Commenting on the callout, Newcastle RNLI Launching Authority Daniel Curran said: "The location of the yacht, along with the loss of their navigational equipment, meant that the group were in serious danger of drifting onto rocks, if they had not managed to raise the alarm.

"Conditions were not pleasant for those on the boat and it was a tough few hours for them.

"I’m delighted, with such an excellent turnout on station yesterday for our training, that we were able to assist this group and bring them back to land safely in an extremely fast time."

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