Missing person brought to safety by Volunteer Crew
Third call in a week for the inshore lifeboat
The crew of the Lytham St Annes Inshore lifeboat (ILB) MOAM were paged a few minutes after midnight on Sunday 1st April 2018 when a person was reported missing along the sea front between Lytham Windmill and St Annes. Shortly after the lifeboat had been launched at Seafield Road slipway, the person was spotted in a boat and brought quickly to the comparative warmth of the
lifeboat Land Rover. Due to the coldness of the night, the onset of hypothermia had started, so, leaving the ILB to be recovered later, the person was quickly taken to the lifeboat house where first aid could be administered by Station personnel assisted by Lytham Coastguard Officers.
The Lytham Coastguard mobile unit, assisted by the Police, set off around
1.30am to take the person to Blackpool Victoria Hospital to be checked over.
Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) Pete Whalley said, “The person was lucky to be found so quickly as anyone exposed on the sea or beach can soon become hypothermic if unprepared and no assistance is at hand.”
This was the third call in a week for the Lytham St Annes ILB. On Monday (26th March) the Volunteer Crew were paged and set off for Starr Gate where two people were in the water but was recalled when passing St Annes as the people were brought ashore by Lytham Coastguard unit and a Blackpool ILB. On Friday (30th March) the ILB searched an area of over 5 miles of the Ribble Estuary for two missing boys. This turned out to be a false alarm with good intent as the boys were eventually found safe and well making their way to another town.
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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