
Report of a red flare means a late-night launch for the Beaumaris Lifeboat.
At 11.16 pm on Thursday 10 November 2022 the volunteer crew members of the Beaumaris lifeboat received a page form the U.K. Coastguard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Holyhead relating to a report of a red distress flare being seen.
The Beaumaris Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Annette Mary Liddington with her volunteer crew launched at 11.30 pm and proceeded to commence a search of the Menai Strait between Port Penrhyn and the Menai Bridge.
In addition, the Bangor and Penmon Mobile Coastguard Rescue Teams also began a shoreline search.
Once the Coastguard helicopter was available it also joined the search,
After nearly two hours in gale force winds and in a moderate swell nothing had been discovered so the U.K. Coastguard instructed the lifeboat to discontinue the search and return to her Station.
The lifeboat arrived back at Beaumaris at 1.15 am on Friday 11 November to be refuelled and cleaned under the still current Covid 19 instructions. Once this had been completed the crew left the station.
A RNLI spokesperson said: ‘This is the third incident of a red flare or flares being launched in the last few weeks, and until a comprehensive search has been completed, we must assume that the distress flare is a genuine request for assistance.
However, we hope that the person or persons responsible for these latest false alarms realise that had another call come in the range of both the lifeboat and helicopter would be reduced by the amount of fuel utilised on this search.’
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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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