Lifeboat crews rescued five people when their boat got into difficulty in the North Sea today (Sunday, June 25).
The RNLI was called out to a pleasure boat off Hartlepool’s Middleton Pier shortly after 3.15pm after it got into difficulty and lost its engine with five people on board.
Crews reached the vessel and towed it back to the Headland where it met with the coastguard rescue team.
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Hartlepool RNLI lifeboat operations manager Chris Horney said: “It’s essential that boat owners wear lifejackets and carry a VHF (very high frequency) radio.
“Luckily our inshore lifeboat was on scene quickly and towed the boat away before the boat was swamped or hit the pier.”
Inshore lifeboat helm Ken Hay added: “Good teamwork from my crew in difficult conditions brought the incident to a satisfactory and safe conclusion.”
The lifeboat was returned to the boathouse shortly after 4pm.
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