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Lifeboats assist in medevac of pregnant woman from Caldey Island

Lifeboats News Release

Both of Tenby’s lifeboats were requested to launch shortly before 8.30am on Monday 5 May, following a request from the Welsh Ambulance Service for assistance in getting to Caldey Island to help a pregnant woman who needed to return to the mainland.

RNLI/Ben James

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The inshore lifeboat was first to arrive and dropped crew members ashore to locate the woman and provide an update on her condition for the paramedic who was on her way to the island onboard the all-weather lifeboat. Also tasked was Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 187 from St Athan.

Due to the state of the tide, once at the island, the all-weather lifeboat transferred the paramedic and her equipment to the inshore lifeboat, which then dropped her ashore on the island. She was then taken to the patient and was soon met by the Paramedic from the helicopter, which had also now arrived.

Once the patient had been assessed, it was decided that the most comfortable way to get her off the island was by helicopter, rather than have to swap from the inshore lifeboat to the all-weather lifeboat and then make the journey in choppy seas back to Tenby.

Once the patient was safely in the air and on the way to hospital, the lifeboats were stood down to return to station, arriving at 10.30am.

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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About the author

Ben James
Lifeboat Press Officer, Tenby Lifeboat Station

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