Six people, including an eight-year-old boy, are safe and well after being rescued from Lough Swilly in County Donegal after their boat sank yesterday evening.
The boat, described as a small trawler, sank at a location between Donree and Portsallon pier at around 7.00pm last night.
Emergency services received a distress call from the small fishing boat just before 7.00pm. A caller on a mobile phone reported that the half-decker, 'Charlie's Angels', was sinking fast.
The Lough Swilly Lifeboat was launched and a rescue helicopter was dispatched from the Finner camp in Donegal.
The distress call was also picked up by a boat from the garda water unit, which happened to be carrying out routine patrols in the area at the time.
By the time the garda boat and the lifeboat arrived on the scene, the trawler had sunk and the people had been in the water for about 20 minutes.
The casualties were taken to Letterkenny General Hospital where they were treated for shock before being discharged late last night.
