Barry Dock RNLI tasked to support Hinkley casualty
In the early hours of Wednesday morning (24 April 2024), Barry Dock RNLI were tasked by HM Coastguard to support a medical evacuation of a casualty from Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
The casualty was working on a rig inside the power station exclusion zone and at 12.26am Barry Dock RNLI’s volunteer crew launched the all-weather lifeboat Inner Wheel II to support RNLI crew from Burham-on-Sea who were also tasked.
Barry Dock’s crew stood off supporting the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at St Athan, while they winched a paramedic onto the rig to assess the casualty and to extract and airlift the casualty to safety. The casualty was then promptly taken to hospital to receive the treatment and care they needed. The Barry Dock crew safely returned back home to the station by 3am.
Andy Gavan, full time Coxswain at Barry Dock RNLI, said:
‘Call outs such as this one go to show the importance of working in collaboration with our flank stations across the Bristol Channel, and how working and regularly training together as one crew continually helps to save lives at sea.'
It has been a particularly busy time for the Barry Dock lifeboat volunteers as they have been undergoing extensive training ready to welcome their new Shannon all-weather lifeboat, the Richard and Caroline Colton II, onto service. RNLI volunteer crews are committed to saving lives at sea 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Barry Dock RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer, Amy Mills on [email protected] or 07710 680 773.
Alternatively, you can contact RNLI Regional Communications Manager, Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith on [email protected] or 07977 728 315, or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
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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.
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