Late night anglers in rock rescue

From: BBC News - UK - Dec 31, 2005

Two anglers have been rescued from rocks off the coast of County Antrim.

The men rang the Fire and Rescue Service for help at about 2330 GMT on Friday after losing their bearings in the dark near Black Head.

The Coastguard, the Bangor Lifeboat and a police helicopter were sent out to look for the men, one of whom was deaf.

They were located by a police infrared detector on the helicopter, and the lifeboat was sent to bring the men safely back to shore.

One of the men was suffering from shock and suffered an asthma attack while being brought onto the lifeboat.

Both men were brought to hospital for check ups.

Coastguard spokesman Alan Pritchard said they were glad the men had chosen to seek help.

"They did exactly the right thing by calling 999 and requesting assistance once they had become disorientated, rather than attempting to climb rocks in the dark," he said.

"We did have some challenges with communications since one of them was deaf, but his companion was able to give us enough information over the phone to enable us to find them.

"This was a good example of multi-agency working, with Coastguard, police, fire and ambulance all working together to ensure a successful conclusion."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4571210.stm

Published: 2005/12/31 10:45:21 GMT

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