Teenage paddleboarder rescued from the sea
A TEENAGER was rescued from the sea after surviving for more than 40 minutes in the water.
The youngster had been paddleboarding off the coast of Aberdaron in Gwynedd on Monday afternoon when he was swept out in strong sea currents.
Lifeboat volunteers arrived at the scene within 20 minutes, but were unable to find him for another 20 minutes due to extremely poor visibility.
They eventually found him “extremely cold and confused”, having swallowed a large amount of water and with indications that hypothermia was setting in.
Due to the severity of his condition, he was winched into the coastguard helicopter and flown to hospital.
A spokesman for Abersoch RNLI said: “Our volunteer crew were tasked by HM Coastguard at 3.45pm [on Monday] following reports of a teenage paddleboarder being swept out in Aberdaron bay.
“Our Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat was launched and arrived on the scene within 20 minutes. On arrival the crew were informed that the casualty was no longer on his paddleboard and was now in the water. It was believed he had left his board in an attempt to swim ashore but was now being swept out to sea. An immediate search commenced to locate him. Aberdaron Coastguard assisted from the cliff tops, however due to a significant swell, an outgoing tide and offshore wind, visibility was extremely difficult.”
The youngster had a mobile phone in a waterproof pouch and was talking to the police while in the sea in an attempt to describe his exact location.
The spokesman added: “The coastguard helicopter was tasked to assist with the search. Approximately 20 minutes later the casualty was located in the water with the assistance of the coastguard team on the headland. The RNLI team recovered the casualty from the water into the lifeboat. The casualty, who was wearing his lifejacket, was extremely cold and confused and appeared to have swallowed a significant amount of sea water and with indications of hypothermia.
“His condition was assessed as serious and he was given immediate first aid by the crew before being airlifted from the lifeboat to the waiting coastguard helicopter who then took him to Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital.”
The following day, following his release from hospital, the boy and his father attended the lifeboat station to collect his belongings and express their gratitude to the crew for saving his life.
RNLI helm Fritz Williams said: “This callout shows just how crucial a lifejacket is and having a means of calling for help.
“A lifejacket can buy you valuable time in a time-critical situation whilst you wait for help to arrive. Staying with your vessel/flotation device can help keep warm out of the water and making you easier to find.”