Unconscious sailor airlifted to hospital off Suffolk coast

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 10 Nov, 11:58 · Archive

An unconscious sailor with head injuries was rescued off the Felixstowe coast and airlifted to Ipswich Hospital.

An unconscious sailor with head injuries was rescued off the Suffolk coast near Felixstowe on Monday afternoon. The RNLI received a call at 13:28 and despatched its all-weather lifeboat Albert Brown from Harwich to a vessel anchored in the Bawdsey anchorage, about 8 miles east of Landguard. A coastguard rescue helicopter, Rescue 163, was also sent to the scene.

The lifeboat reached the vessel 22 minutes after setting out, arriving just before the helicopter. Two RNLI crew members boarded the vessel to provide initial care to the casualty and prepare them for evacuation. The sailor was then winched aboard the helicopter and flown to Ipswich Hospital.

An RNLI spokesperson said that sea conditions were fairly calm, with light north-easterly winds and the tide ebbing to the east. These conditions allowed the lifeboat to reach speeds of 28 knots during the response. After handing over the casualty, the lifeboat returned to Harwich station, where it was refuelled with 700 litres of diesel and made ready for further rescue operations at 4pm.

Harwich Lifeboat Station, founded in 1829, operates the all-weather Severn class lifeboat Albert Brown and the B class lifeboat Tierney, Harvey and Sonny Reid. The RNLI is a charity with volunteer crews on call 24 hours a day throughout the year.

How it is being reported

• Unconscious sailor airlifted to hospital after dramatic rescue at seaHarwich RNLI crew members rescued a crew member with head injuries just outside of Essex yesterday.Colchester Gazette · 10 Nov, 11:30
• Unconscious sailor airlifted to hospital after dramatic rescue at seaHarwich RNLI crew members rescued a crew member with head injuries just outside of Essex yesterday.Echo (Basildon) · 10 Nov, 11:30
• Lifeboat crew rescues unconscious sailor at seaThe sailor was taken to Ipswich Hospital after suffering with head injuries.BBC Essex · 10 Nov, 11:23

In this story: Harwich RNLI · Ipswich Hospital · Felixstowe · Bawdsey · Suffolk · Royal National Lifeboat Institution

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log