Late night call out for Bridlington RNLI after person taken ill at sea

Volunteer Bridlington RNLI lifeboat crew were tasked last night (Monday 1 August) in order to assist a man who had been taken ill whilst at sea on a 24-meter vessel, 25 miles north east off Flamborough Head. Bridlington RNLI all-weather lifeboat ‘Antony Patrick Jones’ launched from Bridlington at 9:40 pm in order to carry out a medical evacuation to take the casualty back to Bridlington. After 70 minutes at sea the lifeboat rendezvous with the vessel.

3 members of the volunteer lifeboat crew boarded the vessel using boarding ladders with casualty care equipment, assessed the casualty whose condition had deteriorated and a decision was then made to take the casualty to Hull Royal Infirmary by air for medical attention by the coastguard’s helicopter. The volunteer crew then moved safety back on the RNLI lifeboat, which returned to Bridlington beach at 2:45am (Tuesday 2 August).

Steve Emmerson, Bridlington RNLI Coxswain added ‘On arrival an assessment of the situation was made and a plan to evacuate the casualty using the vessel’s boarding ladder was formulated and discussed. As the casualty went over the vessels rail onto the ladder he suffered another medical episode.

Whilst waiting for the helicopter to arrive the casualty was kept safe and secure by the 3 RNLI lifeboat crew. The winching operation by the helicopter was not a simple one because of the vessels movement, during winching the helicopter pilot was unable to see the vessel directly below him, and asked for the lifeboat to proceed alongside the casualty vessel to give him a guide as to the position of the casualty vessel. Excellent example of 3 machines working together to achieve the extraction without incident.’ It is understood that the casualty will be discharged from hospital tomorrow.

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For more information, please contact Mike Milner, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer: [email protected] or call:07751-054052.

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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 142,700 lives.

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