Four men were rescued from a fishing vessel after it took in water and sank within 15 minutes in Castletownbere, Co Cork last night.
The incident happened between the main pier at Castletownbere and Dinish pier on Dinish island.
The alarm was raised shortly after 8.45pm.
At the time, volunteers at Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat were finishing a training exercise and tying up their boat when they were contacted by the Coast Guard about a nearby vessel in distress.
"We untied our boat immediately, grabbed a pump and set off as soon as we heard the mayday," said Martin O'Donohoe of Castletownbere RNLI.
"The fishing vessel had hit a rock and was rapidly taking on water. They were all fishermen on board and the water was coming in very fast.
"It was pure luck that we got to them so quickly."
Mr O'Donohoe said the distance between Castletownbere pier and Dinish pier is less than a quarter of a mile, and conditions were calm at the time of the incident.
The vessel could not be saved, he added.
