824 NAS involved in rescue

A Royal Navy helicopter helped in the rescue of a jet-skier who fallen in the water off the coast of Cornwall last week.

Trainee aircrew with 824 Naval Air Squadron, based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, were practising search and rescue exercises in Mount’s Bay when they picked up a mayday call on the emergency radio channel.

Realising they were nearby, the Merlin helicopter crew offered its help to Falmouth Coastguard and immediately flew to the area, two miles southof St Michael’s Mount.

Within minutes they had located a disabled jet-ski with one person still onboard, but the driver - who was wearing the kill-cord – was missing.

The crew began an expanding square search pattern using their onboard camera and naked-eye observation. It wasn’t long before the missing person was located 500 yards away and by this time the Penlee Inshore Lifeboat was six minutes from the scene.

The helicopter crew radioed in the position and, standing off, watched as the lifeboat crew recovered both people who were unharmed. The incident took place around 5pm last Tuesday.

Commander Chris Jones, the squadron’s commanding officer, said: “While the coastguard and lifeboat teams were quick to react, the assistance offered by the Merlin crew expedited the search operation which, in turn, helped speed up recovery. The crew responded in a measured, efficient, and ultimately successful fashion.”