Fisherman pulled from life raft
Both Salcombe Lifeboats launched yesterday evening to their weekly training exercise, to a man in difficulty aboard his yacht.
Little did they expect the exercise to turn into a response to an “Immediate Tasking” being received from the Coastguard, to a fishing vessel on fire, 5 nautical miles South West of Salcombe.
Both lifeboats were on scene within minutes, rescuing an uninjured fisherman from his life raft. Once confirmation of no further casualties was confirmed the ILB returned the casualty to shore and to his waiting family.
For safety reasons the ALB remained on scene until dusk.
Within minutes of the ALB being back on station and readied for service a second call from the Coastguard had the volunteer crew launching to assist the Dart Lifeboat crew who were attending to a 35’ sailing yacht aground in Start Bay.
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.