Five people were rescued by Port St Mary RNLI after their speedboat lost power and drifted towards rocks.

The RNLI were called out to Dreswick Point on the Langness peninsula at 2.24pm on Monday (May 6) to help the five people on board who had drifted close to the rocks due to tidal conditions as well as engine issues.

The lifeboat crew was requested by Belfast coastguard to launch both the all-weather lifeboat, the Gough Ritchie 2, and in-shore lifeboat, the Spirit of Leicester.

A spokesman said: ’Given the initial report that the speedboat was thought to be aground, the decision was made to launch both the all-weather and inshore lifeboats from Port St Mary.

’The all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Mike Keggen and with four crew members on board and the inshore lifeboat helmed by Morgan Guy with three crew members on board, launched immediately and made their way to the scene approximately five miles from the station.

’The inshore lifeboat was first on scene where the lifeboat crew observed that the speedboat was wedged in a gully and close to rocks but not aground.

’The boat had got into difficulty when the engine shut off and tidal conditions caused it to drift.’

After assessing that all on board the speedboat were safe and well, two members of the inshore lifeboat crew got into the water and attached a rope to the speedboat to tug away from the rocks.

They were transferred to the all-weather boat which brought the vessel and its crew to Castletown Harbour by about 3.30pm.

Port St Mary RNLI helm Morgan Guy said: ’Thankfully on arrival we noticed that while the speedboat was very close to rocks it had not run aground and we were successful in towing it back before any damage was done.

’We would remind anyone taking to the sea this summer to always respect the water.

’Always wear a lifejacket and always carry a means of communication. Should you get into difficulty call 999 and ask for the coastguard.’