Multi-agency response to kayaks drifting in Loch Etive
A multi-agency response to reports of four kayaks being swept into Loch Etive from the River Awe resulted in a response from Oban Lifeboat, Oban Coastguard Team, Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Fire and Rescue.
At 2:24pm on Saturday 1st February the UK Coastguard requested the launch of Oban RNLI Lifeboat Mora Edith MacDonald following reports of four kayaks being washed from the River Awe into Loch Etive near the village of Taynuilt.Oban Lifeboat arrived on scene at 3:05pm to discover that three of the kayaks had been recovered by a local fish farm vessel. As the search was about to get underway a kayak club contacted the UK Coastguard to inform them that they had lost their kayaks on the River Awe, and that all of their occupants were accounted for. Oban Lifeboat was therefore able to depart the scene arriving back in Oban shortly after 4pm.
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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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