Extensive multi-agency search with an unexpected outcome.

After a long period looking into every likely spot along the foreshore and around moorings it was eventually discovered that what initially had appeared to be a person in the water turned out to be a seal!

Chiswick RNLI station manager, Wayne Bellamy, commented ‘It might appear over the top for these resources to be committed to an exhaustive search when the outcome turned out to be a seal, but the report of a person in the water was made with good intent; we would much rather follow up such reports that miss the opportunity to help someone in distress. In a search for a person in the Thames with its fast flowing tidal flows and many obstructions every minute counts.’

Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 4,000 incidents and rescued over 1,750 people. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations

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 142,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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.