Lymington RNLI in multi agency rescue of two people in difficulty at Keyhaven
Last night (21 February) the Lymington voluntary crew were arriving at the station for their weekly training session when their pagers went off.
The station's Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat B-882 David Bradley launched under the helm of Phil and within three minutes of the pagers going off. The weather was settling after storm Franklin, but there was a strong SW F5 wind.
Initial reports said one person had been in the water and two people were separated in two different craft. The lifeboat exited the Lymington River using a safe speed due to the lack of visibility and made their way to the eastern entrance of Hawker’s Lake.
Due to the low tide the lifeboat could not get close to the entrance of the eastern approach. The crew decided to illuminate the area in order to see the casualty, using a white parachute flare but were unsuccessful. They then proceeded to the entrance of Keyhaven River and proceeded to the Western approach of Hawker’s Lake where again the crew illuminated the area using a white parachute flare ,which helped the Coast Guard mud rescue team locate the casualty.
The lifeboat then proceeded to the quay area where they located the second casualty that was keeping out of the wind in a Shetland dinghy. The casualty had been immersed in water and was getting very cold, so from a distance of 100 m the crew monitored their condition until the mud rescue team were able to reach them.
Mud rescue teams from Lymington and Hillhead Coastguard both deployed to the two separate casualties and got them safely into the care of the ambulance service. The lifeboat was then stood down and return to station.
Helm Phil said 'It was great to see all the rescue agencies work together so well. It is also really important to ensure you have a means to call the Coastguard if you are in difficulty. The water temperature is also really cold at this time of year and its important to ensure you have appropriate clothing. It was also the first rescue for crew member Luke.'
Suzanne Brown, Lifeboat Press Officer, Lymington Lifeboat Station (07711) 393910 [email protected]
Paul Dunt, Regional Media Officer, SE and London (07785) 296252 [email protected]
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