At 23:20 Falmouth Coastguard requested that Falmouth Inshore Lifeboat be launched following a 999 call reporting that a women had fallen from her yacht onto the beach at Turnaware Bar. Portscatho Coastguard Rescue Team was also tasked to assist.

The Inshore Lifeboat launched from her slipway at 23:25 arriving on scene at 23:34. Two lifeboat crew were landed ashore to carry out an initial assessment of the casualties condition while the inshore lifeboat was beached. It soon became apparent that the incident was potentially very serious with possible spinal injuries having been sustained from the fall. The lifeboat crew requested that the Coastguard identified from Ambulance Control the location of the nearest Paramedic, so that he could be collected and transported to scene before any attempt to move the casualty was made. They also requested that a rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose be brought to immediate readiness, as this was potentially the safest and quickest way of evacuating the casualty to hospital.

It was soon confirmed that the nearest Paramedic was over 40 minutes away so the decision was made to scramble the helicopter. At 23:58 the Portscatho Mobile arrived at the top of the hill and the coastguards walked down to the beach to help prepare a landing site for the helicopter. The helicopter was airborne at 00:15 arriving on scene at 00:25. Using torches and the searchlights from the inshore lifeboat a landing site was illuminated and at 00:28 the helicopter touched down safely on the beach.

The lifeboat crew, coastguards and helicopter crew carefully placed the women into a spinal stretcher before she was taken to the helicopter for the short flight to Treliske Hospital. The helicopter lifted off again at 00:47, landing on at Treliske Hospital four minutes later at 00:51.

The Inshore Lifeboat left the scene at 00:52 arriving back on its slipway by 01:12 where it was refuelled, and was ready for service by 01:30.

The family of the casualty had very sensibly made no attempt to move her and had immediately called for assistance. The location is very remote with no vehicular access so the inshore lifeboat was the quickest way of getting medical assistance to the casualty. The lifeboat crew and her family kept her in traction and as still as possible until she could be evacuated by helicopter. This incident was a fine example of teamwork between the three emergency services.

An Inshore Lifeboat Service

 

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