Cowes lifeboat in river dash to chest pains yachtsman
A man aboard a motorboat complaining of chest pains and difficulty in breathing led to Cowes lifeboat being urgently called out this morning.
The man, believed to be in his 60s, was alone aboard the boat, moored in the River Medina alongside Victoria Pontoon, off East Cowes. Although an ambulance had arrived on the shore its crew were unable to reach the pontoon because it had no pedestrian link to the land.
Mark Harker, the lifeboat helm, went aboard the boat and gave the man initial casualty care including oxygen. Meanwhile the lifeboat, with crew member Gratia Scott-Oldfield now at the helm, went to the shore to collect a paramedic from the ambulance.
Eventually after tests it was decided the man should be conveyed to the waiting ambulance and on to St Mary’s Hospital, Newport. Also on the East Cowes shore were members of Needles Coastguard.
The lifeboat, which had launched at 8.29 am, returned to station at 9.10 am.
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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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