Four people and a dog were saved by the RNLI from a sinking boat near Hartlepool on Sunday (July 28).
The five metre craft had found itself in distress a mile out to sea and a call was made to the coastguard for help at 4:10pm
The RNLI dispatched the inshore lifeboat 'Solihull' and the all weather lifeboat 'Betty Huntbatch' at 4:25pm and were alongside the casualty vessel within a few minutes.
A local pilot boat had gone to assist the floundering vessel and had taken three people and a dog off the boat until the arrival of the Hartlepool lifeboats.
The three people and dog were then transferred to the all weather lifeboat leaving the skipper of the boat to assist two lifeboat crewmembers who had been placed aboard his vessel with a salvage pump to pump the water out.
The vessel was then escorted back to the Ferry Road lifeboat station by the inshore lifeboat to await the tide so that it could return safely to Hartlepool Marina a short time later again escorted by the inshore lifeboat.
Hartlepool Coastguards returned the occupants of the boat from the lifeboat station to the marina.
Don't miss out on the latest news and stories. Subscribe to the Northern Echo, click here
Most read
TripAdvisor: Beamish Museum visitor criticised for review
28 Years Later: Locations in North East and North Yorkshire
Concerns over long-term future of Darlington's DL1
Hartlepool RNLI coxswain Robbie Maiden said: "A quick response and great teamwork from both the volunteer crew of the inshore and all weather lifeboats.
"We brought the incident to a safe conclusion and we must say thank you to the skipper of the pilot boat and the local Coastguard team for their assistance during the incident."
Both lifeboats were made ready for service again by 6.30pm
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel