This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/7544552.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Daring sea rescue to save girls | Daring sea rescue to save girls |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Rescuers had to swim through surf and over submerged rocks to save three 16-year-old girls who became trapped in a gully by a rising tide. | Rescuers had to swim through surf and over submerged rocks to save three 16-year-old girls who became trapped in a gully by a rising tide. |
| The St Davids lifeboat crew were forced to take to the water in Caerfai Bay, Pembrokeshire because their lifeboat did not fit into the gully. | The St Davids lifeboat crew were forced to take to the water in Caerfai Bay, Pembrokeshire because their lifeboat did not fit into the gully. |
| The rising tide meant the girls could have been washed off the cliff unless they were brought to safety. | The rising tide meant the girls could have been washed off the cliff unless they were brought to safety. |
| So crew members jumped into the sea to help swim the girls to the lifeboat. | So crew members jumped into the sea to help swim the girls to the lifeboat. |
| A rescuer said he believed the girls, all aged 16, had been coasteering. | A rescuer said he believed the girls, all aged 16, had been coasteering. |
| Lifeboat crews were called out at around 2000 BST on Tuesday by the coastguard to help the girls who were trapped at the foot of cliffs in Caerfai Bay. | Lifeboat crews were called out at around 2000 BST on Tuesday by the coastguard to help the girls who were trapped at the foot of cliffs in Caerfai Bay. |
| David John, coxswain of the St Davids all-weather lifeboat said they had been unable to get back up the cliff. | David John, coxswain of the St Davids all-weather lifeboat said they had been unable to get back up the cliff. |
| "Our first idea was to get a helicopter in to lift them off the rocks," he said. There is quite a high risk of people being washed on to the rocks or being injured on the cliff face David John, coxswain St Davids lifeboat | "Our first idea was to get a helicopter in to lift them off the rocks," he said. There is quite a high risk of people being washed on to the rocks or being injured on the cliff face David John, coxswain St Davids lifeboat |
| "We called a helicopter in but it takes 45 minutes for it to arrive in St Davids from Chivenor down in Devon and it was becoming clear to us that there was a high risk they would be washed off the rocks before the helicopter arrived. | "We called a helicopter in but it takes 45 minutes for it to arrive in St Davids from Chivenor down in Devon and it was becoming clear to us that there was a high risk they would be washed off the rocks before the helicopter arrived. |
| "So the crew on the inshore lifeboat decided that they would have to act to get the three girls off." | "So the crew on the inshore lifeboat decided that they would have to act to get the three girls off." |
| Mr John said one crew member swam to the teenagers and assessed their condition before swimming back to the lifeboat with one of them. | |
| Three crew members then swam back and helped the two other girls swim to the lifeboat. | Three crew members then swam back and helped the two other girls swim to the lifeboat. |
| Mr John said this sort of rescue was not one lifeboat crews did regularly. | |
| "When the need arises we have got the equipment and the crew have got the abilities if needed," he said. | "When the need arises we have got the equipment and the crew have got the abilities if needed," he said. |
| "There is quite a high risk of people being washed on to the rocks or being injured on the cliff face there. | "There is quite a high risk of people being washed on to the rocks or being injured on the cliff face there. |
| "If they had been washed up onto the gully it is difficult to see how they could have got out uninjured." | "If they had been washed up onto the gully it is difficult to see how they could have got out uninjured." |
| Mr John praised the actions of the in-shore lifeboat crew for doing "a good job in quite difficult circumstances". |