Kessock and Invergordon Lifeboat stations in response to a multi-agency search
Following reports of 2 children being seen in the disused fabrication yard near Ardersier this afternoon (Wednesday 3 January) both Kessock and Invergordon lifeboats were launched to try and find them and bring them to safety.
The sea and weather conditions provided very good search conditions.
Shortly after RNLI Invergordon Lifeboat were tasked to join the search. The low tide mean the Kessock Inshore lifeboat couldn’t get close enough to the shoreline and into the area around the fabrication yard. The Trent class all weather lifeboat daughter craft, a XP-Boat, with it’s shallower draught was better suited to try and navigate over the shallow sand bars at the entrance to the yard.
While Kessock lifeboat provided safety cover for Invergordon’s XP-Boat, the all weather lifeboat continued the shoreline search Kessock had initially been tasked too.
Nairn Coastguard and Inverness Coastguard were also conducting shoreline searches on foot.
Following an appeal on social media by Highland & Islands Police Division it was established that the children were safe and well and not at the fabrication yard or near the shoreline and all the Search and Rescue teams were stood down.
Both Kessock and Invergordon lifeboat crews returned to their boathouses, with the All-weather Lifeboat alongside the West Harbour in Invergordon, and made ready for service by 8.30pm
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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