Five Casualty Call For Holyhead RNLI
Holyhead RNLI volunteers were called out to an emergency this evening (Friday 28 August) after a member of the public spotted a capsized vessel and people in trouble off the coast of Penrhos.
Pagers sounded at 6pm, requesting immediate launch of our D-class ‘Mary and Archie Hooper’. Holyhead Coastguard cited a capsized vessel and at least one person in the water. The lifeboat was launched just 8 minutes after the call.
The three-man volunteer crew headed to the area at best speed, in choppy seas and against a North-Easterly wind. On arriving at the general area, they liaised with the coastguard to locate the exact area the vessel and casualties had been spotted
After a search of the immediate area, the lifeboat crew then spotted the casualties nearer land, and headed towards the scene.
On reaching the casualties near the shore, they were told that a total of five people had been in the water. On realising they were in trouble, another sailor, in a rib, had headed out to help.
The casualties had been in the sea for 40 minutes, and three had swallowed a substantial amount of sea water. They were immediately taken aboard the lifeboat and checked over. All were feeling the effects of being in the water, and one of the casualties was feeling particularly unwell, so an ambulance was requested.
The local volunteer cliff rescue team were on scene and took over the care of the casualties while they waited for the ambulance, and the lifeboat crew then left the scene and headed back to station, arriving back just after 7.30pm. Due to the weather conditions, the lifeboat was recovered in the more sheltered area behind the former marina.
The lifeboat was then washed down and fully sanitized ready for further service.
ILB helm Dave Roberts praised the member of the public who raised the initial alarm, and the owner of the rib who had assisted the casualties.
‘The member of the public who spotted the upturned vessel did exactly the right thing in calling 999. Without that call, who knows what might have happened. The rib owner had headed straight out to help, and there’s no doubt that without those two people, things might have turned out very differently.’
He added,
‘Sea conditions were very challenging, and in that kind of weather it can be very difficult to spot someone in the water. The five people concerned were all wearing the correct lifejackets, and so that too was a factor in this situation not ending up in tragedy.’
For further information, contact Vicki Owens, Holyhead Lifeboat Press Officer, on 07531 681409, or email [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 142,700 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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