Harwich RNLI volunteers help airlift injured crew member from commercial vessel

Harwich RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Albert Brown was tasked at 1.28pm to a crew member who was unconscious with head injuries on board a vessel at anchor in the Bawdsey anchorage, about 8 miles east of Landguard.

Sea conditions were fairly calm, with light north-easterly winds and the tide ebbing to the east. This allowed the lifeboat to reach speeds of 28 knots, and the volunteer crew were on scene 22 minutes after slipping the lifeboat’s moorings.

The lifeboat arrived a few minutes before coastguard rescue helicopter Rescue 163. Two Harwich RNLI crew members went aboard the vessel to give the casualty initial care and prepare them to be evacuated by helicopter.

The casualty was winched aboard the helicopter and flown to Ipswich Hospital. With the casualty handed over, the lifeboat was stood down and returned to station, where it was refuelled with 700 litres of diesel. The lifeboat was ready for service again at 4pm.

The RNLI is a charity, and its volunteer crews are on call 24 hours a day, every day of the year. If you see someone in trouble at sea or on the coast, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

ENDS

Notes to Editor
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operates Harwich Lifeboat Station, founded in 1829 on The Quay, Harwich. The station operates the all-weather Severn class lifeboat Albert Brown and the B class lifeboat Tierney, Harvey and Sonny Reid.

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Richard Grange, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for North East and East England, 07483 112015, [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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