A fishing vessel which ran aground off Dursey Island yesterday has been refloated and towed to Casteltownbere for drydocking and inspection.
A major rescue operation was needed when the 33m French-flagged trawler, the Grand St Bernard, hit rock 12 nautical miles from Castletownbere.
Two local boats - the Girl Jane and Celtic Dawn - Castletownbere RNLI and the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 115 helicopter came to the rescue of the 14-strong crew.
10 crew were airlifted from the boat, while 4 remained on board to help with efforts to free the boat from the rock.
Following a successful winching operation, the trawler eventually came off the rocks and a tow line to keep the casualty vessel away from the shore.
Speaking to RedFM News, Patrick Murphy from the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation says it's a blessing that no one was seriously hurt:
"It just shows how dangerous it is - the industry that were involved in - and these people risked their lives to bring in good healthy food to people ashore. And we're delighted that despite the bad news of the boat hitting the rocks, that everybody is safe, and that there were people on hand to lend a hand. These people heard that this book was after striking the rock and went out to lend assistance immediately, no matter what the power was to themselves, they went out to make sure that they could help this stricken vessel. These lads are safe, so that's a blessing".
