A cliff fall and the Portheras Cove rescue: Land’s End’s August

August kept the volunteers of Land’s End Coastguard Search & Rescue Team busy. In the space of eighteen days they were called to a beach where nobody could be found, to a climber saved by nothing more than their own safety rope, and to a helicopter setting down on the sand to lift a casualty clear. Here is how the team logged each of the three call-outs.

Porthcurno, 7 August: a search stood down

The first call-out came at 18:57 on Friday 7 August, when the team were tasked to reports of a person in the water at Porthcurno. After liaising with other agencies and finding nobody in or around the water, the team were stood down and returned to their station.

Sennen, 14 August: held by the rope

📷Credit: Land's End Coastguard Search & Rescue Team

A week later, at 10:45 on Friday 14 August, the team were tasked to Pedn Men Du in Sennen, where a climber had fallen approximately 30 feet before being arrested by their safety rope.

On arrival, Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station had already put two crew ashore at the bottom of the cliff to carry out an initial assessment. With Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team also on scene, technical equipment was set up to carry out a rope rescue from above if it was needed. Team members were sent down with South Western Ambulance paramedics to carry out a further examination of the casualty.

After a thorough assessment and some treatment for head and shoulder injuries, the decision was made that the casualty could be helped to walk back to the cliff top, under the supervision of paramedics. Once at the top, they were taken on to the next level of care, and the teams departed the scene shortly after.

Portheras Cove, 24 August: a helicopter on the sand

📷Credit: Land's End Coastguard Search & Rescue Team

Ten days later, at 18:10 on Monday 24 August, the team were tasked to assist Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team at Portheras Cove, where a young casualty had a potential spinal injury.

When the Land’s End team arrived, Penzance CRT were already with the casualty, along with a First Responder and paramedics. The Coastguard helicopter Rescue 924 had just arrived on scene and was making its approach to the beach to offload the winch paramedic. Some of the team made their way down to the beach to help recover equipment and to keep members of the public back while the aircraft landed again to retrieve the casualty and paramedics.

The helicopter was then repositioned to a field adjacent to the waiting ambulance, where the team had set up a landing site, and the casualty was transferred across so the crew could leave for onward care. After a short debrief, the team departed to return to the station.

Three call-outs, three different endings: one stood down with nobody found, one walked out under their own steam, one lifted clear by air. As the Land’s End team put it signing off their own log: if you see someone in danger on the coast, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

📷Credit: Land's End Coastguard Search & Rescue Team