Bridlington RNLI called out to medical emergency on vessel off Flamborough Head

The volunteer Bridlington RNLI lifeboat crew was tasked to assist a man who had been taken ill while at sea on a 24-metre vessel, 25 miles north east of Flamborough Head.

Bridlington RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Antony Patrick Jones launched from Bridlington at 9:40pm in order to carry out the medical evacuation to take the casualty back to Bridlington.

Three members of the volunteer lifeboat crew boarded the vessel using ladders with casualty care equipment, assessed the casualty whose condition had deteriorated, and a decision was then made to take the person to Hull Royal Infirmary by air for medical attention by the Coastguard’s helicopter.

The volunteer crew then moved safety back on the RNLI lifeboat which returned to Bridlington beach at 2:45am on Tuesday.

Steve Emmerson, Bridlington RNLI coxswain, said: “On arrival an assessment of the situation was made and a plan to evacuate the casualty using the vessel’s boarding ladder was formulated and discussed.

“As the casualty went over the vessel’s rail onto the ladder he suffered another medical episode.

“While waiting for the helicopter to arrive the casualty was kept safe and secure by the three RNLI lifeboat members.

“The winching operation by the helicopter was not a simple one because of the vessel’s movement, during winching the helicopter pilot was unable to see the vessel directly below him, and asked for the lifeboat to proceed alongside the casualty vessel to give him a guide.

“This was an excellent example of three machines working together to achieve the extraction without incident.”