SWANSEA COASTGUARD SLAM KITESURF HOAXER

A caller claiming to be a kitesurfer in distress off Port Talbot that prompted a land, sea and airborne search coordinated by Swansea Coastguard this afternoon has turned out to be a hoax call.

The call came in from a VHF radio at 14.50 this afternoon, from a man stating that he was kitesurfing off Port Talbot and was having trouble getting back to shore.  When Swansea Coastguard asked for more details the call dropped out, so they relayed the distress message to vessels in the area to see if they could see the kitesurfer.  Three merchant vessels responded and agreed to keep a sharp lookout for the casualty.  They also sent Port Talbot and Mumbles Coastguard Rescue Teams to the scene to perform a shoreline search, and requested the launch of the Mumbles RNLI All Weather Lifeboat and the RAF helicopter from Chivenor. 

By 16.00 the search area was fully saturated and all resources stood down. 

Swansea Coastguard Watch Manager Dai Jones said:

“From the initial call there was an indication that this could be a hoax, as there was little sense of urgency in the caller’s voice and we could not detect wind noise in the background.  Despite this, we always have to send out search resources in case it is a genuine emergency, and on this occasion the search area was saturated with nothing found. 

Hoax calls are intensely frustrating for us, and for the rescue teams we send out; especially since the weather today was gale force winds and six to eight feet of surf, meaning we not only waste their time, but also put them in danger unnecessarily.  Making hoax calls is against the law, and we always seek to prosecute anyone found doing so.”

Notes to Editors

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