Maritime and Coastguard Agency
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51 year old swimmer rescued near Porthmadog
At 12.30 this afternoon (Saturday) Holyhead Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) received a 999 call from a concerned woman reporting that her husband was out swimming and had got into difficulty just off Black Rock Sands near PorthMadog.
Holyhead Coastguard tasked Criccieth Coastguard Rescue Team to the scene, and requested the launch of Criccieth Lifeboat. Black Rock Sands Beach Patrol also attended.
Once all units were on scene they were unable to sight the casualty and so Holyhead Coastguard scrambled RAF Helicopter 122 from RAF Valley to assist in locating the swimmer. They also requested that the Pwllheli All Weather and Inshore lifeboats be launched to join in the search.
In the meantime, a search pattern was drawn up taking into account the strong onshore winds and tidal currents and an estimated location for the casualty was communicated to the helicopter. The helicopter arrived at this location and found the casualty immediately, directing the Criccieth Inshore Lifeboat towards the man, who recovered him from the water and brought him ashore.
Once ashore the man was treated for mild hypothermia in the waiting ambulance but did not require hospital treatment.
Carl Hiltunen, Holyhead Coastguard Watch Manager said:
"The swift location and recovery of the 51 year old swimmer
this afternoon was an incredibly successful rescue, and the
welfare of the casualty is a credit to the speed and efficiency of
all units who responded.
Certainly if it had not been for the
rapid response of all resources involved this incident could have
had a very different outcome.
The man had been in the water for over an hour when he was rescued, and although we are enjoying some unexpected warm weather today the sea is still cold at this time of year and hypothermia can set in in as quickly as half an hour even on a sunny day.
The casualty is now being treated on scene by the ambulance for mild hypothermia but is otherwise safe and well, and we would like to thank all rescue units involved today for bringing this incident to a successful conclusion."
Press releases and further information about the Agency is available on the Web at http://www.mcga.gov.uk
