Call to wear life-jackets following inquiry into Lough Mask drowning

THE Marine Casualty Investigation Board has urged anglers to wear life-jackets following an inquiry after an angler lost his life on Lough Mask last year.

The board recommended that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport issue a Marine Notice reminding mariners of their obligations to comply with the Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Recreational Craft.

In their recommendation, they said a special emphasis should be made on the following: The need to be aware of the current forecast for the area, the requirement to wear a PFD (personal flotation device), and the need for a boarding ladder or other effective means of quickly re-boarding a vessel.

Clubs should be requested to bring this notice to the attention of their members.

The inquiry commenced following the death in March 2019 of a local angler on the lake.

The deceased departed the slip at Cushlough near Ballinrobe on March 8 for an afternoon of angling.

Weather conditions had deteriorated during the day in question. When he failed to return that evening, a search and rescue operation was launched.

The search was hampered due to bad weather, with the deceased's boat found on the eastern shore of Lough Mask the following day.

Following a continued search effort the body of the deceased was found on March 30.

The extensive search effort was hampered by periods of prolonged bad weather.

The deceased (78), who had been angling on Lough Mask for many years, was not wearing a PFD.