Teams succeed to save man without any loss from island water
A man rescued by helicopter from a small island off the Pembrokeshire coast after he and three other kayakers became stranded. On Saturday morning, the RNLI was alerted to a potential major incident between Chapel Bay and Thorn Island, south of St Ishmael’s.
Four kayakers got into trouble in the water and one managed to swim to West Angle Beach, while the other two were picked up by a passing fishing boat. A fourth person, however, climbed a cliff in a desperate attempt to reach safety and ended up stranded on an island 30 meters above sea level.
A UK Coastguard helicopter dispatched to the scene and the man was successfully winched from the island. He was able to retrieve his kayak and other items that were still in the water while RNLI crews worked with an inflatable boat. The helicopter landed in a field near the shore and handed the casualty over to Coastguard rescue teams from St Govan’s and Tenby, while members of RNLI Angle safely transferred the two casualties picked up by the fishing vessel to the Coastguard teams and were able to leave the scene.
It was a busy Sunday for RNLI crews in this particular area of Pembrokeshire. Earlier on Saturday morning, crews were dispatched to assist, a nine-meter yacht with an engine failure near St Ann’s Head. Which needed to be towed back to Milford Dock. Nobody seriously injured in either of the incidents.
