Shoreham RNLI lifeboat crew rescues man after his fishing boat sinks
The Shoreham all weather and inshore lifeboats were launched to a report of a boat taking on water off Shoreham Harbour at 9am on Monday 12 December.
When the all weather lifeboat arrived at the scene, they found the man in the water hanging on to a lifejacket and no trace of his 18ft fishing boat, which had sunk.
The man was taken from the water aboard the lifeboat a mile and a half south east of Shoreham Harbour and back to the lifeboat station, where the crew attempted to warm him up, as he was extremely cold. Ambulance paramedics then took him to hospital where he was reported to be in a serious condition.
The inshore lifeboat continued searching the area and then returned to station.
Lifeboat coxswain Steve Smith said: 'The boat sunk so fast that the man didn’t have time to put a lifejacket on but he managed to hang onto it in the water, which helped save his life. One of the crew spotted him in the water and we got to him as soon as we could'.
RNLI media contacts
- Michelle Tugwell, Shoreham Harbour RNLI Station Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer 0771 4080333 [email protected]
- Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 [email protected]
- For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
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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.
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