Teddington RNLI evacuate man with breathing difficulties from River Thames boat

One of Teddington RNLI’s two D-Class RNLI Inshore Lifeboats – D-743 Olwen and Tom – was launched with James Kavanagh (helm) and crew members, Jon Barker, Kay Whittaker and Nic Peters. The D-743 Inshore Lifeboat was on scene by 5:48am.

Helm James Kavanagh said: ‘We were tasked to help London Ambulance Service evacuate a gentleman with breathing difficulties from a boat at Platts Eyot, Hampton. When we arrived, paramedics were already in attendance with the casualty on the boat, but needed the help of our crew to get the casualty across to the road side river bank.’

LAS requested the assistance of Teddington RNLI as they determined that the route back over the footbridge to the ambulances from the boat was too difficult given the condition of the casualty.

The casualty was lowered into the lifeboat under the care of Kay Whittaker as RNLI Casualty Care lead along with the lead LAS crew member and ferried safely to the awaiting ambulances. Jon Barker and Nic Peters remained on the casualty vessel to take key details and then re-joined the lifeboat on the other side of the river.

As Kay explained: 'This is exactly the type of situation we train for. How to care for and rapidly evacuate casualties. It was very rewarding to be able to help the ambulance service transport the casualty from the boat to the mainland.’

James added: ‘This location is up river of our normal patch, so it took additional time to reach through Molesey Lock. I would like to give special thanks to our Shore Crew, in particular Paul Roach and Graham Jaggers - who are both also Deputy Launching Authorities - who were amazing. Paul and Graham drove to Molesey Lock from our Teddington RNLI Station to operate the Lock both upstream and on return, which saved us invaluable time. We are always happy to assist LAS and other emergency services and wish the gentleman a speedy recovery.’

ENDS

Further information:

https://rnli.org/

RNLI media contacts

• Paul Stallard, Teddington RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer, 07879 810 817 / [email protected]

• Gianna Saccomani, Teddington RNLI Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer

07798 905515 / [email protected]

• Paul Dunt, RNLI Media Officer London/South East Tel: (0207) 6207426 Mob: 07785 296252/ [email protected]

• For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

For the latest RNLI news, photos and videos, visit the RNLI News Centre

www.rnli.org

Key facts about the RNLI

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen and Lough Ree. Additionally, the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.

The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 or by email.

The RNLI is a charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SC037736). Charity number 20003326 in the Republic of Ireland

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.