Over 20 people were rescued from a ship that took on water, after colliding with a fish farm off the coast of Mayo.

The incident occurred approx one mile east of Clare Island at approximately 4.30 am on Wednesday (August 12) when a 24-metre vessel made contact with the fish farm.

The vessel reportedly began taking on water following the collision, with Achill Island RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat launched shortly after in a rescue mission. The Rescue 118 helicopter was also deployed from Sligo to assist in the mission.

After assessing the situation on arrival, the lifeboat crew immediately decided to transfer 16 non-essential crew members and bring them ashore on Clare Island.

The rescuers added that following the rescue of the 16 non-essential crew members, they returned to the vessel as it took on water, monitoring the situation until it was brought under control.

The vessel was eventually removed from the fish farm, before lifeboats brought it back safely to Achill at 8 pm.

25 people were rescued in total in the 16-hour mission, with Achill Island RNLI Coxswain Dave Curtis saying: ‘This was a lengthy call out for our volunteers commencing in the early hours of Wednesday morning and not finishing until late yesterday evening, and they deserve great credit for a job well done.’

‘We would like to commend those on the sailing vessel, those working for the fish farm and everyone else involved yesterday, including the Clare Island nurse and the community centre staff, for working together in challenging circumstances, to help bring the crew to safety and for monitoring an ongoing situation where a vessel was taking on water and needed to be freed from the farm.

‘This was a time-consuming process, but the efforts of all involved ensured everyone came ashore safely.’