AN angler was saved from drowning yesterday when he was plucked from the sea by a lifeboat crew in a dramatic rescue operation on the Northumberland coast.
The injured fisherman was left clinging to the bottom of the North Pier at Amble Harbour after plunging between 15ft and 20ft down a gap in the structure. He had been buffeted by the waves for several minutes, and suffered injuries to his lower body and arms, before being pulled to safety by the local inshore lifeboat.
Crew member John Duncan jumped into the water and helped keep the man afloat for about a minute before other crewmen managed to drag him into the boat. The casualty was taken ashore – where his condition was monitored by lifeboat paramedic Trevor Nisbet – before he was picked up by a search and rescue helicopter from RAF Boulmer and flown to Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington. Last night Amble lifeboat second mechanic Es Coulter said the incident could easily have ended in tragedy.
“It was definitely a life saved, this one, and it was quite lucky that the sea was not that rough today, otherwise it could have been a different ending.”
The incident started at about 10.15am when the coastguard received an emergency call that the angler – believed to be in his 50s or 60s, a holidaymaker from Essex – had fallen off the pier.
It is thought that he fell down a metre-wide gap in the concrete pier which anglers have to make their way across to fish from the end of the structure. The man injured his side or hip in the fall and was left conscious but holding on to the base of the pier with his bare hands.
Both the Amble inshore lifeboat, Mildred Holcroft, and all-weather boat, Four Boys, were launched, with the smaller boat getting to the scene first. Mr Coulter said: “Everything happened very fast, it was what we call a hurry-up situation and the crews did a first class job and handled it very well.
“We were in the water within three minutes of meeting at the boathouse.
“The angler had slipped and fallen down the gap in the pier and ended up on the harbour side.
“He was hanging on with his bare hands and had been cut to pieces on the barnacles.
“One of the lads jumped into the water to keep him afloat because he couldn’t manage to climb out. The rest of the crew pulled the guy into the boat.
“He was taken straight to the lifeboat station where his condition was assessed. There was a road ambulance on the way but the coastguard had already called out the helicopter from Boulmer and we thought the best policy was to get him away as soon as possible.
“The helicopter landed next to the harbour offices and took him to Wansbeck General. He was cut, bruised, cold and shocked, and complaining of injuries to his waist or hip.
“Anglers are allowed to be on the North Pier but the gap in it means it’s dangerous getting to the end.”
A Humber coastguard spokesman said: “The casualty had fallen off the pier on to rocks and there was some concern that he could have suffered spinal injuries, so it was decided to take him to hospital by helicopter. As far as we are aware, his condition is not too serious and he has a damaged hip.”
