New Brighton RNLI rescue injured sailor from busy shipping lane
RNLI New Brighton Lifeboat volunteers were tasked this morning (Monday 2 December) by UK Coastguard to assist a stricken sailing boat which had drifted into the shipping lanes in the River Mersey.
As the volunteer crew were launching the lifeboat, they received information that there was a single occupant on board the vessel who was injured.
The RNLI inshore lifeboat was launched and quickly located the boat deploying two volunteer crew members on board to tend to the casualty. As one crew member attended to the casualty, the other navigated the boat out of the shipping lanes and into the nearby Liverpool marina.
As the RNLI volunteers navigated the vessel to safety, staff from the marina and UK Coastguard were on hand to assist with berthing the casualty boat. RNLI volunteers provided first aid to the casualty who was then handed over to the North West Ambulance Service for further treatment.
New Brighton, Lifeboat Operations Manager Ian Thornton said:
‘One of our crew initially spotted the boat which appeared in distress and the alarm was raised with the Coastguard who tasked the RNLI lifeboat to assist. This was a particularly complex rescue as the sailboat was only a small vessel resulting in a confined space to work and treat the injured casualty whilst also trying to navigate the boat out of the shipping lanes.’
The RNLI are currently facing their own Perfect Storm. The volunteer crews are busier than ever, but the charity’s income is down. To support the RNLI this Christmas visit RNLI.org/ThePerfectStorm to donate.
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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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