Dramatic footage captures Coastguard winchman flying in narrow cliff crevice to reach fallen climber

A climber who fell at Minchin Hole Cave, near Swansea last weekend was dramatically rescued by the Coastguard helicopter after the winchman was flown through a narrow cliff crevice to reach the stricken casualty - all captured on the helicopter's winch cam.

 On Saturday 15 April, a group of climbers had been climbing at Minchin Hole, near the Gower, Swansea, when a male climber was injured after falling 5 metres onto rocks.  At around 3.40pm another member of the climbing group called 999 and asked for the Coastguard to help.

Mumbles and Rhossili Coastguard Rescue Teams were immediately sent to the location, but due to its inaccessible location were unable reach the casualty using their specialist rope rescue equipment.  The Mumbles Lifeboat RNLI​ crews were able to reach the casualty and move him to a wider break in the hole so that the UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at St Athan could winch the casualty safely and transfer him to Swansea Morriston Hospital.

Jonathan Mustard, Aeronautical Operations Controller for the UK Coastguard said:  ‘This is an amazing example of the teamwork required at an inaccessible location when time is of the essence.  This teamwork comes from the dedicated training exercises our helicopter crews, Coastguard Rescue Teams and the RNLI​ crews undertake all year round.

‘The climbing group did exactly the right thing to call the UK Coastguard and their quick action resulted in the fast arrival of our teams at the location.  We send our best wishes to the casualty and hope he makes a swift recovery.’
YOUTUBE footage of Helicopter Rescue at Minchin Hole Cave

Popular posts from this blog

PRESTWICK SEARCH AND RESCUE HELICOPTER SERVICE LAUNCH MARKED IN CEREMONY

Image
- Prestwick search and rescue helicopter base set to go live in January - The launch of the Prestwick civilian UK search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service was marked today (Thursday 17 December 2015) in a ceremony held at the new Coastguard SAR base at Prestwick Airport. Bristow Helicopters Ltd is operating the search and rescue helicopter service for the UK on behalf of HM Coastguard. The UK limited company was awarded the ten-year UK SAR contract by the Department for Transport in March 2013, representing a £1.9bn investment by the UK Government in the UK’s search and rescue helicopter service. By 2017 the service will be delivered from ten bases in all, strategically located close to areas of high SAR incident rates. The Prestwick base will begin SAR operations when crews begin receiving taskings from the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) in January 2016. Bristow crews are delivering the UK SAR helicopter service on behalf of HM Coastguard with state-of-the-a...
Read more

Coastguard scoops stricken man from surging waves

Image
Senior Coastal Operations Officer Ryan Gray A man facing the threat of being dashed on the rocks by powerful waves was rescued by a coastguard who hauled him o ut of the surging water.   The alarm was raised at about 9.45am at Skippingstone beach, Bangor, on 1 October when a member of the public reported their concern for a person they had spotted struggling on rocks being pounded by the s e a .   The 999 call was picked up at Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre which swiftly sent Bangor Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) and the local RNLI inshore lifeboat.   First on the scene was Senior Coastal Operations Officer Ryan Gray who, taking in the situation, quic k ly donned a personal float at ion device a ttached to a line.   As the sea surged, Ryan shouted a warning to the man before, seconds later , a wave picked the figure up and threw him to the shore.   The powerful surge carried him up the beach where Ryan was able to step forward and seiz...
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he...
Read more