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Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI called to 2 persons in the water in the Broadford bay area

Lifeboats News Release

Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI's volunteer crew called out to 2 males who got into difficulty after falling from a toy inflatable boat.

RNLI/Andrew MacDonald

Kyle lifeboat 'Spirit of Fred. Olsen'

The pagers sounded shortly after 9:00pm last night (Saturday 20 May), after the UK Coastguard received reports of 2 males in difficulty in the water off Broadford bay, after falling from a toy blow up inflatable boat.

The lifeboat launched within 10 minutes, and made best speed towards the last known location. On the way to the scene, the crew discovered that a local teenager had also seen the people in distress, and had gone out in his own boat and managed to rescue them and take them back to shore safely.

Once it was established that everyone was safe and there were no injuries, the lifeboat then returned to station to be cleaned, refuelled and made ready for service.

Speaking of the incident, Andrew MacDonald, helm at Kyle RNLI said: 'Thanks to the quick thinking of the teenager going out in his own boat to rescue the 2 casualties, a far more serious situation was averted.' 'We’d like to remind people that blow up inflatable toys should be kept for use in swimming pools and not open water, and to always ensure that you have lifejackets on and a means of communicating to the emergency services if you get into any difficulty'.

Notes to editors:

  • Please credit the photo to Kyle RNLI

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Andrew MacDonald, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI Scotland, [email protected]

Richard Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland, 07920 365929, [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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