Rhyl RNLI launch to reports of a person stuck in quicksand off Rhyl
On Friday 29 May, volunteer crew members from Rhyl RNLI were tasked by HM Coastguard to a casualty trapped in quicksand with a rapidly incoming tide.
The pagers sounded at 9pm on Friday evening and the volunteer crew quickly assembled and launched the charity’s inshore lifeboat immediately. While en route to the Splash Point area to search for the casualty, the lifeboat crew received a message from the Coastguard, informing them the tide had reached waist height on the casualty and teams from Rhyl Coastguard Rescue and the helicopter had been dispatched.
Arriving on scene within minutes, the lifeboat was brought alongside the casualty and crew members were deployed into the water. The crew placed them in a lifejacket and supported the casualty onto their back, which enabled their feet to be freed from the quicksand.
The casualty was then recovered into the lifeboat and brought back to the lifeboat station for a check over and warm up.
Dougie Lonsdale, Helm during the shout said:
'Conditions on the coast can change in seconds, with tides and quicksand being serious and often invisible hazards. In this instance the casualty did everything correctly by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard and staying calm.’
If you get stuck in quicksand or mud, stay calm and immediately call 999 to ask for the Coastguard.
RNLI Media Contacts
For further information, please contact:
Mia Morrison, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Rhyl RNLI, [email protected].
Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Wales, West of England and Isle of Man, 07977 728 315, [email protected]
RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]
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The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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