Nick_Pam
Member
Hi
Just pulled down from the MCGA site......
Press Notice No: Duty Notic
Friday, May 14, 2004
Posted 21:07 GMT
TEXT MESSAGE BRINGS VITAL HELP VIA PORTLAND COASTGUARD
At 6.20 p.m. this evening Portland Coastguard received a call from Dorset Ambulance Control alerting them to a possible person in distress on the top of a cliff near Swanage.
A text message had been sent by a female to her boyfriend alerting him that she was in difficulty. The boyfriend’s mobile phone was called several times but because of the poor coverage in the area, no contact could be made. However due to the nature of text and the way it was sent, the Coastguard began actively pursuing the incident.
At the time the call was made the weather in the area was south westerly force 3 with a visibility of about 2.5 nautical miles. It remained dry and misty. The Coastguard then began plotting a search on the scant information provided and started to plan for searches within the Ballard and Durlston areas of cliffs.
During this planning stage the Coastguard continued to try the boyfriend’s mobile phone and eventually some 20 minutes later the call connected. He described that he was very concerned about his girlfriend who was 31 and was visiting her mothers in the Swanage area. She had told him briefly in her text that she was halfway up the cliffs near Swanage and was in urgent medical need, and that he knew she was diabetic.
Immediately the Swanage Coastguard Rescue Team were alerted by pager and sent to the area at Ballard Down to commence a search. The Coastguard helicopter Whiskey Bravo was also scrambled.
At just after 7.00 p.m. the Coastguard helicopter located the girl and judged by the Coastguard winchman from the air to be in a serious condition, and in need of immediate hospital treatment. The Swanage Coastguard Team then made their way to the area with a stretcher and the girl was discovered to be in a semi conscious condition about 5 metres away from a cliff path below the Down. She was quickly prepared by the team on the ground and after winching into the aircraft was flown to Dorchester Hospital’s accident and emergency unit.
Nigel Robson, Coastguard Watch Manager at Portland said:
“The text the girl made to her boyfriend possibly saved her life. We were most fortunate to be able to glean more information from him about the area of cliffs in which she was walking and to get our valuable rescue assets out to her as quickly as possible. She is presently in hospital where we all wish her a speedy recovery. Our thanks are due both to the helicopter crew and cliff team who acted with great speed and tenacity in locating her.”
Posted by: Mark Clark
For further details contact:
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency Duty Press Officer
Office hours: 023 8032 9401
Mobile: 07711 002678
Pager: 07693 345278
My question.....how did they know she was in danger, if all she did was to text her boyfriend and his phone was out of service???????????
Big Brother??????
Nick
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Just pulled down from the MCGA site......
Press Notice No: Duty Notic
Friday, May 14, 2004
Posted 21:07 GMT
TEXT MESSAGE BRINGS VITAL HELP VIA PORTLAND COASTGUARD
At 6.20 p.m. this evening Portland Coastguard received a call from Dorset Ambulance Control alerting them to a possible person in distress on the top of a cliff near Swanage.
A text message had been sent by a female to her boyfriend alerting him that she was in difficulty. The boyfriend’s mobile phone was called several times but because of the poor coverage in the area, no contact could be made. However due to the nature of text and the way it was sent, the Coastguard began actively pursuing the incident.
At the time the call was made the weather in the area was south westerly force 3 with a visibility of about 2.5 nautical miles. It remained dry and misty. The Coastguard then began plotting a search on the scant information provided and started to plan for searches within the Ballard and Durlston areas of cliffs.
During this planning stage the Coastguard continued to try the boyfriend’s mobile phone and eventually some 20 minutes later the call connected. He described that he was very concerned about his girlfriend who was 31 and was visiting her mothers in the Swanage area. She had told him briefly in her text that she was halfway up the cliffs near Swanage and was in urgent medical need, and that he knew she was diabetic.
Immediately the Swanage Coastguard Rescue Team were alerted by pager and sent to the area at Ballard Down to commence a search. The Coastguard helicopter Whiskey Bravo was also scrambled.
At just after 7.00 p.m. the Coastguard helicopter located the girl and judged by the Coastguard winchman from the air to be in a serious condition, and in need of immediate hospital treatment. The Swanage Coastguard Team then made their way to the area with a stretcher and the girl was discovered to be in a semi conscious condition about 5 metres away from a cliff path below the Down. She was quickly prepared by the team on the ground and after winching into the aircraft was flown to Dorchester Hospital’s accident and emergency unit.
Nigel Robson, Coastguard Watch Manager at Portland said:
“The text the girl made to her boyfriend possibly saved her life. We were most fortunate to be able to glean more information from him about the area of cliffs in which she was walking and to get our valuable rescue assets out to her as quickly as possible. She is presently in hospital where we all wish her a speedy recovery. Our thanks are due both to the helicopter crew and cliff team who acted with great speed and tenacity in locating her.”
Posted by: Mark Clark
For further details contact:
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency Duty Press Officer
Office hours: 023 8032 9401
Mobile: 07711 002678
Pager: 07693 345278
My question.....how did they know she was in danger, if all she did was to text her boyfriend and his phone was out of service???????????
Big Brother??????
Nick
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