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St Davids RNLI called to cruise ship in St George’s Channel

Lifeboats News Release

RNLI St Davids volunteer lifeboat crew were paged on Thursday 4 May at 12:05pm after a cruise liner requested assistance to extract a passenger suffering from a medical issue.

RNLI/Nicholas Leach

St Davids lifeboat in action

Both the all-weather lifeboat Norah Wortley and Coastguard Rescue helicopter 187 were requested to attend, with the helicopter being the preferred extraction option.

Norah Wortley arrived alongside the cruise liner, some 20 nautical miles north west of St Davids Head, almost midpoint between Wales and Ireland.

The helicopter arrived shortly before the lifeboat and the winchman was already on the ship as the lifeboat came alongside.

St Davids crew stood by whilst both the casualty and partner were winched safely aboard the helicopter.

With winching operations concluded the helicopter took the casualty directly to hospital and the lifeboat returned to station, rehousing at approximately 2:30pm.

RNLI/Claire Elshaw

St Davids RNLI alongside cruise ship

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.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.

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