Flares used in nighttime sea search
31/07/2023
The RNLI used flares in a nighttime search after 40 people were reported being cut off by the tide and one person in difficulties in the sea near Margate, UK.
One night in July, UK Coastguard was told the group was cut off by the tide at Botany Bay, Broadstairs, around two miles east of Margate.
A multi-agency rescue operation began involving Margate and Ramsgate RNLI’s B class inshore lifeboats and Ramsgate RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat acting as On-scene Coordinator. Also involved were Coastguard Rescue Teams from Margate and Herne Bay, the Coastguard rescue helicopter from Lydd Airport and Kent Police.
Once on scene, coastguard officers were also told that a naked male had entered the sea and was heard to be calling for help. He was not seen to leave the water.
The group of 40 were led to rescue by shoreside responders via a cliff path; meanwhile, the search for the missing man included the use of parachute illuminating flares, searchlights and airborne electronic detection aids.
After a three-hour search, with the initial group safely recovered to the clifftop and no further reports of any missing persons, the rescue units were released.
Lee Button, Deputy Launching Authority, Margate RNLI says, “All involved were faced with a potentially serious mass-casualty rescue operation, all in the dark. As well as the immediate concern for the reported person in the water there was the risk that some of the group would attempt to make their own way to safety complicating an already complex operation. Thankfully the shoreside teams were able to assist the group to safety and we urge people to think of the potential for being cut off by the tide when on beaches in the area.”
Image: RNLI Margate
