(CNN) -- Ten people are thought to have been injured after around 80 sailing dinghies got into difficulties in heavy weather off the coast of Northern Ireland.

A rescue operation was launched after news that the boats were struggling at Strangford Lough inlet, in County Down.

"Belfast Coastguard was first contacted just before 2pm (1pm GMT) reporting that some of the boats had capsized, while others were struggling to cope in the strong winds and squally showers," the coast guard said in a statement.

Two helicopters -- an RAF aircraft from Wales and an Irish coast guard helicopter -- were called to help with the rescue operation, alongside vessels from the coast guard and Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Bernard Roddy, a RNLI volunteer at the scene, told CNN that the weather had been good, but a random squall had hit, causing a large wave that overturned a number of dinghies.

"Latest information suggests that 10 people have been injured, most showing signs of hypothermia," the coast guard statement said. "It's believed that all those in the water have been accounted for. However rescue units on scene, including the helicopters and lifeboats, are carrying out further searches to make sure."

The East Down Yacht Club, based at Strangford Lough, is hosting the world championships for the GP14 class of sailing dinghy, with Monday the first day of racing. The boats are two-man recreational dinghies.

10惡劣天氣後擊中受傷北愛爾蘭帆船橡皮艇
由蘇珊娜Cullinane和卡羅爾·喬丹，美國有線電視新聞網
2014年8月11日 - 更新1508 GMT（2308 HKT）
新聞提要
救援行動正在進行北愛爾蘭約80帆船橡皮艇
貝爾法斯特海岸警衛隊已知悉下午約一時，格林尼治標準時間，有些船已經沉沒
救援直升機，救生艇機構和海岸警衛隊的船隻正在幫助與操作
東降遊艇俱樂部在斯特蘭福德湖託管GP14橡皮艇錦標賽
（CNN） -十人被認為是受傷後約80帆船橡皮艇陷入困境的惡劣天氣關閉北愛爾蘭海岸。
救援行動是有消息稱，船在斯特蘭福德湖入口都在努力推出後，在郡。
“貝爾法斯特海岸警備隊是第一次接觸只是下午2點（北京時間下午1時）之前報導，一些船隻已經沉沒，而另一些則掙扎在強風及有狂風驟雨應付，” 在一份聲明中海岸警衛隊說。
兩架直升機 - 來自威爾士的皇家空軍飛機和愛爾蘭海岸警衛隊的直升機 - 被稱為協助與救援行動，與來自海岸警衛隊和英國皇家救生艇協會的船隻。
伯納德·羅迪一個RNLI志願者在現場，告訴CNN說，天氣一直不錯，但隨機颮擊中，造成了推翻一些橡皮艇大波。
“最新的資料表明，10人受傷，大多數表現體溫過低的跡象，”海岸警衛隊聲明中說。“它認為，所有這些在水中已經占到了，但救援單位在現場，其中包括直升機和救生艇，正在開展進一步的搜查，以確保”。
東下遊艇俱樂部，設在斯特蘭福德湖，承載噸，他的世界冠軍為GP14級帆船的風帆，與週一賽車的第一天。該艇是兩個人的休閒橡皮艇。