Porthcothan: swimmer airlifted to Treliske after sea rescue

A swim off one of North Cornwall’s quieter beaches turned into a full multi-agency call-out on Monday, after a swimmer was taken ill in the water and had to be helped ashore. Within minutes a surf school, lifeguards, paramedics, police and a Coastguard rescue team were all on the sand at Porthcothan, and an air ambulance was on its way.

📷Credit: Padstow CRT and Padstow Lifeguards

A medical episode in the water

HM Coastguard Padstow was tasked to Porthcothan beach at 12:18pm on Monday 3 August, to reports of a medical emergency. The casualty had suffered a medical episode while in the sea.

Staff from Waves Surf School were close by and got the casualty out of the water and onto the beach quickly. They were joined by Porthcothan RNLI lifeguards, and, shortly after, paramedics from Cornwall Air Ambulance were dropped on scene.

The Coastguard team arrived alongside Devon & Cornwall Police and the South Western Ambulance Service, assisting as and where they were needed.

📷Credit: Padstow CRT and Padstow Lifeguards

Flown to Treliske

Once the casualty was ready to be moved, the air ambulance relocated onto the beach. Some of the team set up a Helicopter Landing Site while others carried the stretcher aboard.

The casualty was then flown to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske for further treatment. The Coastguard team wished them a swift recovery.

In a post after the call-out, the Padstow team singled out two names for thanks. “Huge thanks to Bev and Windy of Waves Surf School and Porthcothan Lifeguards,” they wrote. “Your professionalism and rapid response was exemplary.” They also thanked every emergency service that turned out, calling it “another excellent example of multiagency working”.

If you see someone in trouble

Porthcothan sits on the Atlantic coast between Padstow and Newquay, and like much of Cornwall’s north coast it draws big crowds through the summer. The advice from the Coastguard is the same wherever you are on the water’s edge.

If you see anyone in trouble on, or near, the coast, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

📷Credit: Padstow CRT and Padstow Lifeguards