On a calm night with a flat sea the RNLI all-weather lifeboat Marine Engineer was launched under the command of volunteer coxswain Edd Christian to assist the Coastguards and Police who were already on the scene.
While the Coastguards searched along the beach the lifeboat crew conducted a shoreline search from the sea north as far as Derby Castle and back utilising both the lifeboat’s search lights and parachute flares.
At this point the lifeboat’s daughter boat, an inflatable dinghy, was launched and volunteer crewmen James Bettridge and Michael Kaighen made for the Tower of Refuge where they landed and were able to confirm after a search that there was no one there. Meanwhile the lifeboat crew made a further sweep of the Douglas shore line before returning to recover the daughter boat and its crew.
After one further sweep of the Bay at the request of Belfast Coastguard, with no one found the lifeboat was stood down to return to station where it was re-housed and made ready again for service by12.30am.
Notes to editors
Caption for attached photo: Douglas all-weather lifeboat Marine Engineer returning to station. Credit: RNLI/Michael Howland
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Michael Howland, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07624 496029 or email [email protected] or Danielle Rush, Divisional Media Relations Manager (Wales and West) on 07786 668829 or 01745 585162. Alternatively contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789.
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.
