Man stuck in mud near Frater Lake rescued by Gosport Lifeboat Station

The Gosport Lifeboat Service was alerted to the man who was tsuck in the mud in his small tender near Frater Lake, Portsmouth Harbour this morning (July 11). The service’s smaller vessel, Gosport Inshore Lifeboat (ILB), were tasked on Thursday morning to assist the man.

Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS), an independent lifeboat charity, was paged at 6:30am by the UK Coastguard to attend. When the service’s volunteers were on scene, its lifeboat was unable to get close enough to the casualty due to the state of tide. He had gone aground after the engine failed on his tender.

James Baggott, coxswain of Gosport Lifeboat, said: ‘This was a great example of a large number of emergency services working together to effect a rescue.

‘The casualty had been aground for several hours and was very grateful to be taken on board the lifeboat and back to shore. He was safe and well but grateful for a drink of water. ‘He had all the correct safety equipment, including a lifejacket, and was able to raise the alarm thanks to his handheld VHF radio. He did the right thing calling for help and not attempting to battle the sticky mud himself.’

Due to the casualty's location, it was also impossible to reach him safely from the shore.The UK Coastguard tasked further assistance from Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, South Central Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) as well as Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRTs) from Hill Head, Portsmouth and Lymington. Using Gosport Lifeboat and Gosport ILB, mud rescue crews from the CRTs and Fire Service were transferred to the incident where a joint services rescue of the casualty was carried out. The man was safely transferred between the boats and taken back to shore at Gosport Marina where crews were on hand to provide further care.

For more information about the Gosport Lifeboat Service, click here.