Busy weekend for Seahouses Lifeboat Crews

The first incident was on Friday 21 July 2016 at 14.50hr, when an elderly lady fell down a full flight of concrete stairs at the end of Seahouses main breakwater. She had recently returned from a boat trip to the Farne Islands. A local trip boat skipper saw her fall and radioed  the Coastguard for assistance for her. Several Lifeboat Crew responded immediately with the station Land Rover and medical kit. The lady was in shock, and had suffered a head and ankle injury. The Crew gave Casualty Care treatment until the arrival of a road ambulance, which took her to the Northumbria Emergency Care Hospital at Cramlington. Seahouses Lifeboat Operations Manager added " It was amazing that this lady had not suffered more serious injuries or indeed tumbled into the harbour. The crew were pleased that they were able to care for the lady until the ambulance crew arrived."

At 18.41hr on Saturday 23rd July 2016, Humber Coastguard requested the launch of Seahouses All Weather Lifeboat, to go to the assistance of a motor cruiser from Eyemouth, that had an ill diver aboard. The vessel had been approximately 27 miles south east of Eyemouth, but was now making for Seahouses. The Rescue Helicopter from Inverness (nearest available) had been tasked, and was on route. The lifeboat crew were requested to give medical care to the diver until he could be handed over to the helicopter.
The lifeboat was quickly launched, and located the casualty vessel 11.5 miles east of Seahouses. Lifeboat Crew were put aboard the vessel, and the diver was found to be very ill. He was given oxygen and his condition carefully monitored, and the Coastguard were kept updated as to his condition which was causing some concern to the RNLI crew. The diver had been diving to approximately 61m for about 38 minutes, and became ill when he surfaced.
On arrival of the Rescue helicopter, the diver had been transferred to the lifeboat and made ready for a helicopter evacuation. He was then flown to the decompression chamber at Aberdeen for treatment. The diver was believed to be from the Glasgow area, but the RNLI have no further information as to his identity or condition.
The lifeboat crew were complimented by the helicopter winchman for a smooth and efficient transfer of the ill diver from the lifeboat to the helicopter. Lifeboat Operations Manager Ian Clayton commented, “This diver was really very poorly when transferred to the helicopter. We hope he is able to make a full recovery, and he is now in the best place to do so.”

Finally, at 11.09am on Sunday 24th July 2016, Seahouses Lifeboat Operations Manager received a phone call from Beadnell Launching Slipway, reporting a small speed boat with two persons on board, broken down near the North Sunderland Buoy, 1 mile off Seahouses. He immediately contacted Humber Coastguard, and requested the Inshore Lifeboat be paged for launch.
The boat was quickly located and towed back to Beadnell by the Inshore Lifeboat where it was landed safely, and was met by the local Coastguard Rescue Team from Seahouses who gave the occupants some safety advice. The Inshore Lifeboat then returned to station.

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.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

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