Kyle RNLI in late night callout to people in canoe swept away by strong current
Kyle RNLI in late night callout to people in canoe swept away by strong current
Lifeboats News Release
Kyle of Lochalsh lifeboat launched at 10.25pm on Friday 19th August, to reports of 2 adults and 1 child in difficulty in a canoe which had got caught up in the strong tidal currents in the Kylerhea area
The
volunteer crew were paged at 10.19pm at the request of Stornoway Coastguard,
after a member of the public reported seeing the people get into a canoe and
leave the shore in Glenelg a short while before getting into difficulty.
The
lifeboat arrived on scene at 10.35pm, and along with a passing cargo vessel Havgull, began a search of the narrows
looking for the casualties, with the lifeboat searching from the north end of
the narrows whilst the Havgull searched
from the south.Around 5 minutes later,
the crew of the cargo vessel spotted the casualties on a remote part of the
shore to the south of the Glenelg ferry pier.The lifeboat made contact with the 3 people and established that none of
them were injured, however due to the rocky shoreline and rapidly dropping tide,
could not reach them.As the casualties
were very disorientated and did not know the area, the lifeboat crew decided to
drop one of the crew members at the ferry pier to walk the half mile over the
hill to reach the stranded people.Once
the crew member reached them, it was established that the initial report was
incorrect and the 3 casualties were in fact all adults.They were then helped back over the hill to the
lifeboat at the ferry pier, where the 3 people decided they would walk back
along the road to where they were staying.
At
11.45pm the lifeboat returned to Kyle where it was refuelled and made ready for
service.
Speaking
of the incident, a Kyle RNLI spokesperson said: ‘The current swept them away
from the shore but they were extremely lucky and managed to reach the part of
the coast where they were found.They
were trying to canoe from Glenelg village back to where they were camping, but
due to it getting dark, they became disorientated and paddled into the strong
tidal flow at the exit to the narrows, which at times can flow at a speed of 8
knots’.
Notes
to editors:
This
is the fourth callout for the lifeboat since Tuesday
Please
credit photo to RNLI
RNLI
media contacts:
Andrew MacDonald, Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI
Volunteer Press Officer on 07748 707606or
[email protected]
Or Richard Smith,
Public Relations Manager Scotland on 01738 642956, 07786 668903 or [email protected]
Or Henry Weaver,
RNLI Press Officer for Scotland, 01738 642946, 07771 943026, [email protected]
Or contact RNLI Public
Relations on 01202 336789
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
