
Early morning MAYDAY call for Seahouses Lifeboat
On Sunday 9 June at 4.33am Seahouses RNLI was paged by HM Coastguard, to launch immediately in response to a Mayday call from a kayaker, capsized between Seahouses and the Farne Islands.
Other Seahouses crew who had also assembled at Seahouses boathouse, started scanning the search area from the station with binoculars, and spotted the casualty in the early morning light and were able to direct the inshore lifeboat to the casualty.
The casualty was found in the water clinging to his capsized kayak, cold and uncommunicative due to potential hypothermia. He was quickly pulled aboard the lifeboat and an ambulance was urgently requested. The casualty was brought ashore at Seahouses, and taken to the boathouse, pending the arrival of the ambulance. He was then taken by ambulance directly to Cramlington Critical Care Hospital.
Meanwhile Craster inshore lifeboat was able to recover the capsized kayak back to Seahouses, before returning to their station, which would prevent any further calls reporting a capsized craft as dawn broke.
If you find yourself in an emergency situation or spot someone else in trouble, you should call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.
If you are inland and see someone in difficulty on the water, be it on a river or a lake, you should ask for Fire and Rescue when you call for help.
For further safety advice, please visit: Water Safety Advice And Tips - Know The Risks (rnli.org)
RNLI Media contactsFor more information, please contact Ian Clayton, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer: [email protected]
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.