Newquay: a 3.31am callout to a casualty at Towan

If you slept through the small hours in Newquay on Thursday, you missed a large chunk of the county’s emergency response gathering on the seafront in the dark. A lifeboat, a rescue helicopter and crews from land and sea were all called out before dawn, and every one of them was heading for the same thing. Someone was in the water.

A 3.31am callout

The pagers went at 3.31am on Thursday 13 August 2026. Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team was one of several units sent to help Devon and Cornwall Police with a casualty in the water at Towan. For the Newquay team it was tasking number 108 of the year.

📷Credit: Newquay Coastguard Search & Rescue Team

Teams from land, sea and air

Five units were tasked in all. Alongside Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team came Newquay RNLI Lifeboats, HM Coastguard Padstow, the South Western Ambulance Service and the coastguard rescue helicopter, callsign 924. It was a broad turnout for the coastguard on the north coast, drawing in crews by road, by sea and by air.

Brought ashore

The casualty was eventually brought ashore by the lifeboat crew, Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team and police, then handed over to the ambulance service. There was no word on the person’s condition.

If you see someone in difficulty

The team’s message after the callout was a simple one. If you see someone in difficulty along the coast, dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.

📷Credit: Newquay Coastguard Search & Rescue Team