By Sophie Lewis
A dramatic rescue mission was launched this morning after a man found himself stuck in mud near Frater Lake, Portsmouth Harbour. The Gosport Lifeboat Service was alerted to the situation, where the man was stranded in his small tender after the engine failed.
The Gosport Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) was dispatched on Thursday morning to assist. At 6:30 am, the UK Coastguard paged the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS), an independent lifeboat charity, to attend to the emergency. Upon arrival, GAFIRS volunteers found that their lifeboat could not get close enough to the casualty due to the state of the tide.
James Baggott, coxswain of Gosport Lifeboat, said, “This was a great example of a large number of emergency services working together to effect a rescue. The casualty had been aground for several hours and was very grateful to be taken on board the lifeboat and back to shore. He was safe and well but grateful for a drink of water. He had all the correct safety equipment, including a lifejacket, and was able to raise the alarm thanks to his handheld VHF radio. He did the right thing calling for help and not attempting to battle the sticky mud himself.
Due to the man’s location, reaching him safely from the shore was impossible. The UK Coastguard enlisted additional assistance from Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, South Central Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), and Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRTs) from Hill Head, Portsmouth, and Lymington. Using Gosport Lifeboat and Gosport ILB, mud rescue crews from the CRTs and Fire Service were transported to the scene where a coordinated joint services rescue was executed.
The man was safely transferred between the boats and brought back to shore at Gosport Marina, where further care was provided by the emergency crews on hand.
