2 men have been pulled from the River Medina by Coastguard Rescue officers after falling out of a boat.
At just gone 23:15 it was reported that 2 males had entered the water near Newport Quay, prompting a response by Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Team and Cowes RNLI.
Thanks to the swift water rescue of Coastguard officers – just as one of the the men was going under – no lives have been lost.
Island Echo understands the duo were heavily intoxicated, with 1 of the casualties being conveyed to St Mary’s Hospital for treatment.
Cowes RNLI were tasked to launch at 23:16 but were quickly stood down just as the lifeboat reached the Cowes Floating Bridge at the mouth of the River Medina.
It was a busy night for the volunteer crew of Cowes RNLI after a yacht went hard aground near a busy shipping lane.
When the 40ft ‘Kokomo’ had been halted by the shingle of the Bramble Bank first to attempt a rescue was a police launch. But when the launch could not get close enough because of the shallow water the lifeboat was then tasked by Solent Coastguard.
The yacht, by this time stuck on the bank for 2 hours, was eventually re-floated; the crew were able to winch their boat off with a rope attached to the anchor which had had been deployed in deeper water by the lifeboat.
Cowes lifeboat, which had been launched at 21:25, returned to station about an hour later.
