Kyle RNLI called out to a car submerged in the sea off the Skye coast
Kyle’s volunteer crew were paged by the UK Coastguard after a car had ran off the side of the pier and fallen into the sea at Kylerhea
Kyle lifeboat ‘The Spirit of Fred. Olsen’ launched at 1.15pm after reports were received of a car falling off the side of the Kylerhea pier and landing in the sea. The lifeboat made best speed towards the area, and arrived on scene at 1.25pm to find the car partially submerged.
The lifeboat put 2 crew members ashore to assess the situation and check on the welfare of the cars occupants. Once it was ascertained that nobody had been inside the vehicle when it went off the pier and the passengers were all uninjured, the lifeboat stood by until local land based Coastguard units arrived. As the tide was coming in and the car was in danger of becoming fully submerged, the lifeboat crew assisted with securing the vehicle to the pier to enable the car to be recovered.
The lifeboat was then stood down, and returned to Kyle where its was refuelled and made ready for service by 2.30pm.
Speaking of the incident, a Kyle RNLI spokesperson said: ‘Luckily the car was unoccupied when it rolled half way down the pier and fell off the edge. Due to the rapidly incoming tide, it wouldn’t be long before the car was fully submerged making it very difficult to recover out of the sea. Therefore before departing the scene the crew assisted with running lines to the shore to ensure that nobody else would have to enter the water during the recovery process later in the day’.
Notes to editors
· Higher resolution versions of the pictures are available if needed
· For further information on the vehicle or its occupants please contact the UK Coastguard
· This is the 4th callout for Kyle lifeboat in the past week
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact
Andrew MacDonald, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, 07748 707606 or [email protected]
Gemma McDonald, Regional Media Manager (Scotland), 07826 900639 or [email protected]
Martin Macnamara, Regional Media Officer (Scotland), 07920 365929 or [email protected]
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.