A holidaymaker who tried waving at planes to get attention after being blown 2 miles out to sea on an inflatable dinghy is safely back on dry land this evening (Sunday). HM Coastguard received a 999 call at around 16:15 this afternoon to reports of a male in trouble a significant distance off the coast of Shanklin. The male, in his 40s, had luckily been spotted adrift by a member of the public, which in turn led to the mobilisation of rescue assets including Bembridge RNLI and Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team. Both Bembridge’s All Weather and Inshore lifeboats were launched, but it was Sandown’s Beach Lifeguard Unit that was first to reach the casualty. The lifeguards deployed their quad bike and jet ski to Shanklin before making waves out to sea to locate and recover the casualty, who had been shouting for help and waving at passing planes to get attention – but no one could hear him. Coastguard Rescue Officers checked over the middle aged male before standing down from the incident. Sandown & Shanklin Independent Lifeboat is unavailable due to an incident on a shout last weekend.
If you or someone else is in difficulty on the coast or at sea, or if you spot what you think may be unexploded ordnance, then dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Further safety information can be found at https://coastguardsafety.campaign.gov.uk/.
Get help faster by giving emergency services your exact location by using ///what3words.
what3words have divided the world into 3m squares and given each square a unique combination of three words, which means when you are in a remote area of the Isle of Wight you can get assistance much quicker without the need for local knowledge.
