Skegness RNLI lifeguards rescue three people dragged out to sea on an inflatable

At 10:30am, as the charity’s lifeguards were setting up for their patrol, three people, including one child, began shouting for help when their inflatable was quickly dragged 100m out to sea from Skegness Beach by a strong rip current.

At first it wasn’t clear what the three beachgoers were shouting, however one lifeguard, Janusz Burda who has come to work as an RNLI lifeguard from Poland, was able to understand their calls for help as they were speaking in Polish.

He immediately swam out to the three casualties with a rescue tube, which he attached to the inflatable and towed it back to shore carrying the two adults. A second lifeguard, Tom Roberts, swam out on a rescue board and was able to support the child onto the board before bringing them safely back to the beach.

There were no serious injuries and all three were fine to enjoy the rest of their day at the beach.

RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor, Arun Gray said: ‘The lifeguards did a great job and their swift actions meant that everyone was safely back onto the beach in a matter of minutes. We are incredibly fortunate to have Janusz on our team as he was able to communicate with the casualties, which really helped the situation by keeping them calm.

‘It is very easy for people using inflatables to be quickly swept out to sea. For those choosing to use inflatables however, we would like to remind people that they should be used near the shore and only between the red and yellow flags on lifeguarded beaches, and to ensure their children are safely supervised.

‘It is also important to avoid taking inflatables out in big waves, and never use them when the orange windsock is flying as this indicates that there are offshore winds which will blow inflatables further out to sea.’

Notes to editors

RNLI lifeguard patrols operate between 10am-6pm daily, however some areas can have slightly different times, or weekend schedules. The RNLI urges the public to make sure that they are heading to a lifeguarded beach, by visiting: https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeguarded-beaches

RNLI Picture caption

The photographs show RNLI lifeguards of Skegness Beach Tom Roberts and Janusz Burda who were involved in rescue of three people dragged out to sea on inflatable. Credit: RNLI

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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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