Swanage RNLI, coastguard teams and paramedics from the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance went to the aid of a man who’d slipped and broken his ankle.
The incident happened on a pontoon at Monkey Beach in Swanage on Easter Saturday 16th April 2022, in front of a packed seafront of visitors.
The man was treated by emergency services on the pontoon near the Stone Quay in Swanage
Paramedics are guided through the Easter weekend crowds by the coastguard team towards the injured man
Badly damaged ankle
The Swanage Lifeboat crew and the coastguard teams from Swanage and St Albans had just finished attending to another incident in the bay, when the call came in that a man was injured on the pontoon near the Stone Quay.
They all headed off in that direction and found the man had damaged his ankle so badly that he needed the air ambulance to get him to hospital quickly.
With the sun shining and temperatures rising for the first time this year, the town was busy and the coastguard teams had to move crowds from Prince Albert Gardens in order to make space for the air ambulance to land.
People were asked to move from Prince Albert Gardens in order for the air ambulance to land safely
“Prince Albert Gardens was cleared”
Swanage Coastguard reported:
“Both the coastguard teams and the lifeboat located a male on a nearby pontoon. Treatment was given until the arrival of the air ambulance due to the nature of the injuries. Prince Albert Gardens was cleared to allow the air ambulance to land safely.
“With everyone working together, the male was stretchered to the aircraft and flown to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.”
The man is stretchered to the waiting air ambulance
The air ambulance was the quickest way to get the injured man from Swanage to the hospital in Dorchester on a Bank Holiday weekend
Yacht in trouble off St Aldhelm’s Head
This was not the first incident of the day for Swanage RNLI.
In the morning at 9.41 am, the all weather lifeboat had been called out to help the crew of a yacht off St Aldhelm’s Head to the west of Swanage. The yacht had become entangled in the lines of a pot marker buoy.
Swanage Lifeboat Station reported:
“A crew member was placed aboard the yacht to help the two persons on board and a short time later, the yacht was cut free.
“The propeller, however, was still wrapped in the rope, so the yacht had no engine power.”
Consequently, the decision was made to tow the yacht back to Swanage by the lifeboat.
In the morning the Swanage all weather lifeboat launched to help a yacht that had become entangled in the rope of a pot marker buoy
Capsized jet ski
Shortly after lunch, the crew were paged again, along with the coastguard. This time it was to an incident near to the Ocean Bay end of Swanage Beach. The inshore lifeboat launched at 3.14 pm, following reports that a jet ski had capsized.
Swanage Lifeboat Station said:
“The second callout this afternoon was to two people who had fallen from a jetski. Thankfully they had made it safely back to shore as we arrived.”
The crew added:
“The Easter weekend is off to a busy start with the Swanage lifeboats launching twice today, assisting with three separate incidents.”
