Gosport lifeboat continue to save lives as call-outs surge in busy first half of the year

Gosport Lifeboat crews have saved five lives and assisted a total of 80 people so far in 2022, as coastguard call-outs surge.

Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (Gafirs) has been called out by HM Coastguard 56 times in the first half of the year and attended three medical incidents ashore.

As an independent lifeboat station, Gafirs rely on local fundraising to support its lifesaving work.

In total, Gafirs volunteers have clocked up 59 incidents – five more than this time last year.

Keith Thomas, Gafirs’ secretary, said: ‘So far, 2022 is proving to be another busy year for us.

‘Including five [incidents] one three-day period, which included evacuating two life-at-risk persons from a blazing boat.

‘We also assisted an unconscious, hypothermic, life-at-risk person found in the undergrowth behind our station. It’s not just lives at risk at sea our volunteers help with.’

Of the 56 Coastguard incidents, 27 were pager call outs which saw crews called away from their work or home at any time of the day or night.

Mr Thomas added: ‘Our duty days are very important to our crews for training, but also for those in trouble at sea as we can launch within minutes.

‘A number of taskings this year have been “immediate” calls from the coastguard – the most serious type – and as our crews have been on station, and ready to respond, we’ve been able to get there quickly.

Gafirs volunteers also gave 23 sea safety talks to almost 600 children during the first half of the year.