Oban lifeboat spends five hours at sea during two separate incidents

Shortly after 10am this morning (Thursday 6 October) the volunteer crew of Oban RNLI lifeboat were requested to join Coastguard rescue teams searching for a missing person in the area around Ballachulish and Loch Leven.  The lifeboat arrived on scene at around 11:25am and commenced a search of the area. After around ninety minutes, Stornoway Coastguard made the decision to release Oban lLifeboat from the search, with the Coastguard teams remaining to continue a shore search.

During the return journey to Oban, whilst the lifeboat was approaching Maiden Island at the north entrance to Oban Bay, Stornoway Coastguard contacted the lifeboat to make the volunteer crew aware of a dive RIB that was approaching Oban from the South. The RIB had one person on board suspected of suffering from decompression sickness, commonly known as "the bends". The lifeboat met the vessel at it's berth and then assisted the diver into a waiting ambulance.

RNLI media contacts

Iain Fulton, Oban Lifeboat Press Officer
Tel: 07855 555539
Email: [email protected]

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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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