Collapsed man prompts lifeboat and helicopter rescue
A man who collapsed while collecting mooring fees in Newtown Creek today (Saturday) led to a combined effort to rush him to hospital, involving Cowes RNLI lifeboat and a Coastguard helicopter.
The man had taken his tender alongside a yacht, well up Newtown Creek, when he is believed to have suffered a heart attack, causing him to collapse backwards, hitting his head.
Initially medically trained staff who happened to be crewing the yacht attended to him. Then urgent resuscitation procedures were carried out by a paramedic winched down from the Lee on Solent-based helicopter.
Because of the yacht’s location it was decided the man should be taken out of Newtown Estuary by the lifeboat, where under the direction of the paramedic he could then be winched into the helicopter. With the operation complete, he was flown to Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth.
The lifeboat launched at 12.20 pm and returned to station at 1.50 pm.
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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