St Ives RNLI launch to emergency location beacon
It was 6.04pm and a wet and murky January night when St Ives volunteer crew responded to their pagers.
Falmouth Coastguard requested both of our lifeboats due to reports of an emergency location beacon.
The crew launched quickly, getting underway to the Hayle Harbour area where the beacon was located.
Our all weather lifeboat was requested to perform an offshore search three miles off, and our inshore lifeboat was requested to execute an inshore search. Rescue helicopter 924 was also on scene and was able to pinpoint the exact location as Hayle harbour.
The crew quickly located an EPIRB on a submerged and abandoned vessel. The crew were able to secure the beacon, deactivate it and recover it on board the lifeboat. Thankfully this was not an emergency and no casualties were involved or injured.
The crew then returned to the station to prepare once again for service.
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.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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