Weymouth RNLI launch to capsized fishing boat
Weymouth’s volunteer lifeboat crew launched this morning (20 October) to reports of a fishing boat that had capsized off Portland Bill. The two fishermen had evacuated their 6.8 metre vessel into a life raft.
HMS Westminster also responded to the Mayday call and arrived on scene just before Weymouth’s all weather lifeboat. Their sea boat launched to take the casualties off the life raft and transferred them onto the lifeboat, where RNLI volunteers provided casualty care.
One of the fishing crew had sustained a head injury so with the Coastguard Helicopter on scene, he was airlifted from the lifeboat and transferred to Dorchester hospital. The other casualty was taken back to Weymouth lifeboat station where he was handed into the care of the ambulance service.
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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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