Two pulled from harbour in double water rescue

Coastguard Rescue Officer Tom Nunnen-Wills

Fortune was on the side of two people who got into trouble in the water at Folkestone harbour. 

Folkestone Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) had been busy all day on 8 October: supporting the police, a false alarm for someone in the sea, and even a report of concern for seal. 

So when their pagers bleeped at about 5pm for an urgent situation at Folkestone harbour, they were ready to go. Quickly arriving on the scene with Langdon CRT, they faced a complicated situation.  

A man and woman had got into difficulty while rowing a tender out to a moored vessel. He was in the water caught by a rope with his head only just above surface; she was struggling in the tender as water came in over the side. 

Dover Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre had sent an HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter as well as the RNLI's inshore lifeboat from Littlestone. 

But with the situation serious, a crowd gathering on the quay, and help still on its way, the teams made their judgement: Coastguard Rescue Officer (CRO) Tom Nunnen-Wills would go in for a water rescue. 

Tom (33) said: “We decided that given the helicopter and lifeboat were not there yet, we needed to do an immediate rescue as the casualties were not far from the harbourside. 

“It’s a bit of a cliche to say your training kicks in, but it really did. All of a sudden you go into autopilot. We practice often and everybody knew their position and what to do.” 

Tom donned a lifejacket over his Coastguard overalls with a line attached so he could safely swim out with the other end held securely by the team.  

Approaching the man slowly and explaining the plan to avoid him panicking, Tom released him from the tangled ropes before his fellow CROs pulled them both safely in. 

With the man securely on land, Tom returned to the woman in the tender. Still on the line, he grasped the little boat while the team carefully hauled him and the second casualty to safety. 

The man and woman were passed safe and well into the care of the South East Ambulance Service. 

Tom said: “The adrenalin was running, like any incident, and we had to make a quick decision. Afterwards, I was feeling like we had accomplished something, and it was rewarding to be able to put our training into effect. 

“It was a happy ending – it could have gone south. It was lucky we were out at the time so we could get there so quickly. 

“Things can escalate so fast. We did not expect to have to go in the water but circumstances can change in an instant.” 

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