Newquay RNLI lifeboat volunteers respond to capsize alert
Newquay's RNLI lifeboat volunteers responded to their pagers at 9.49pm on Wednesday (20 July) and launched within four minutes, in response to several 999 calls reporting four people in the water from a capsized boat off Great Western Beach.
Fortunately, all four local men were able to reach the shore safely, where they were assisted by members of Newquay Coastguard rescue team and South Western Ambulance Service. They were uninjured after their ordeal, although one of the men, who had become separated from the rest of the group after the boat capsized, was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital by ambulance for observations after ingesting sea-water.
In a light westerly wind, RNLI volunteers in the charity's D class inshore lifeboat managed to right the capsized 13-foot pleasure boat and take it ashore through the one-metre surf, before returning to the lifeboat station at 10.20pm.
Newquay RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager, Gareth Horner said after the call; 'Many of our RNLI volunteers were at home watching Newquay lifeboat station feature on the new BBC One series Saving Lives at Sea, when we were called to launch the lifeboat tonight. The four men were very lucky to all reach safety and the RNLI urges boat-users to respect the water and always wear a lifejacket and have a means of calling and signalling for help'.
Notes to editors
Attached is a photo of Newquay's RNLI lifeboat volunteers back ashore after the call.
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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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