Jetskier pulled from water in Poole Harbour after reporting a fire onboard
Poole D class was requested to launch by HM Coastguard (Tues 16) at 7:25pm after they had received a mayday broadcast from a jetskier reporting his vessel was on fire.
The inshore lifeboat crew made their way towards Baiter slipway which was the last know position and spotted en-route a yellow jetski with someone in the water waving for help.
The person was pulled from the water onto the lifeboat with no obvious signs of injury. They reported seeing smoke and could smell burning and issued a distress mayday call on their VHF radio. They were then taken ashore to Baiter slipway where their friend was waiting for them and the Poole Coastguard Rescue Team were requested to attend.
The lifeboat crew then returned to a safe distance off the jetski, which had no obvious signs of fire to assess any further risks.
The jetski was drifting towards the north shore of Brownsea Island and after observing the jetski for 20 minutes, with consultation with HM Coastguard, the jetski was carefully towed to Baiter slipway where the fire service had been requested.
The fire service from Poole Fire Station checked the jetski over to ensure if was safe and observed obvious signs that there had been severe heat in the engine compartment.
Volunteer crewmember Max Underhill said ‘It was fortunate he was carrying a means of calling for help and issued a distress call. This meant we we able to find him quickly and get him ashore safely.’
The lifeboat returned to station at 9pm.
This was the 40th call out this year for Poole volunteers.
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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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