Newquay RNLI lifeboat volunteers help injured fisherman
Newquay's RNLI volunteers were alerted at 9.08am on Thursday (17 May) and launched the charity's Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat to assist a fisherman who had injured his hand in a winch onboard his ten-metre fishing boat, around 14-miles north west of Newquay.
A second, fast fishing boat met with the fisherman, transferred him to their boat and steamed towards land to rendezvous with the lifeboat crew, which they did 11-miles from shore.
One of the RNLI volunteers, who is a NHS paramedic, assessed the man's injuries and requested a helicopter evacuation. The fisherman was winched from the lifeboat by the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter and flown to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.
Wayne Martin, volunteer deputy launching authority, said: 'The lifeboat returned to the station at 10.25am and the injured fisherman was treated and discharged from hospital later in the day. We wish him a speedy recovery, and thank the local fishermen who assisted us in his swift rescue.'
Notes to editors
Please find attached a picture of the injured fisherman being winched from Newquay lifeboat by Coastguard helicopter. Credit: RNLI/Newquay.
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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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