Casualty extracted from Old Hartley Rocks with assistance of Blyth RNLI

On Saturday 10th August at 7.38pm the volunteer crew were paged by UK Coastguard to proceed to Old Hartley Rocks to ascertain whether a casualty could be extracted by the inshore lifeboat.

Blyth RNLI's D Class lifeboat was launched at 7.46pm with 3 volunteer crew on board.

Arriving on scene at 8.09pm the volunteer crew with the assistance of the North East Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team and Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade, carried the casualty across the rocks to the awaiting D Class.

The casualty was then safely positioned aboard the D Class and the inshore lifeboat made it's way at slow speed to the awaiting NEAS ambulance which was on St Mary's Island Causeway.

Once the casualty was on board the ambulance the volunteer crew were able to return to the lifeboat and then requested permission to return to the lifeboat station.

At 9.15pm the D Class arrived back at Blyth RNLI and was refuelled and made ready for service.

Adam Dixon, Volunteer Helm said;'This personally for me was a shout to remember as it was my 6th wedding anniversary and I got married at St Mary's Lighthouse so didn't expect to be visiting it again under these circumstances.We worked well with the other agencies involved and were glad that we could ensure the casualty was extracted in the most comfortable manner possible given the location.Myself and the volunteer crew involved wish the casualty a speedy recovery.'

RNLI Media Contacts
For more information please telephone Robin Palmer, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07801 290638 or [email protected] or Clare Hopps, Regional Media Officer (North and East) on 07824 518641 [email protected] or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

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