Two people have been taken to hospital for further treatment following reports that four people were struggling in the water off the coast of a North East beach, just a day after two men drowned in a nearby tragedy.
Rescue Operation at Crimdon Dene
Hartlepool RNLI volunteers launched a large rescue operation on Monday, July 13, at Crimdon Dene on the East Durham Coast. The crew was paged at around 6:10 pm to assist four people who were struggling in the water. A major emergency response was deployed, including ambulance crews and the Hartlepool RNLI inshore lifeboat 'Solihull' and all-weather lifeboat 'John Sharp'.
A Hartlepool RNLI spokesperson said: "On arrival at the scene the inshore lifeboat crew recovered a person from the water who had swallowed a lot of sea water and was very cold. The casualty was taken back to the Hartlepool RNLI lifeboat station where paramedics were waiting to deal with him. The other three people had earlier made their own way back to the beach."
Ambulance Response
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We received a call at 6:19 pm on Monday 13 July to reports of an incident at Crimdon Dene beach in Hartlepool. We dispatched two ambulance crews, two rapid response paramedics, a specialist paramedic, and a duty officer to the scene. Two patients were taken to North Tees hospital for further treatment."
Second Call-Out
While en route to Crimdon, the all-weather lifeboat was then tasked to Ryhope near Sunderland, where there were reports of paddle boarders in danger of being blown out to sea. Shortly after the request, the paddle boarders had made their way to the safety of the shoreline, so the all-weather lifeboat was stood down.
The Hartlepool RNLI spokesperson added: "The all weather lifeboat returned to the Ferry Road lifeboat station at 7:10 pm and was refuelled and made ready for service by 7:25 pm."
Previous Tragedy at Seaton Carew
The incident comes just a day after a tragedy at nearby Seaton Carew, where two men drowned while trying to save children off the North East coast. Onlookers described it as an awful tragedy.
