Crew Winched to Safety Near Skegness

Two people have been winched to safety after their vessel suffered engine failure and began to take on water, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported.

The call came in as a Mayday to Humber Coastguard Operation Centre at 7:36 a.m. (BST) today from the Dolphin of Rhu, north of the windfarm between Skegness and the River Humber.

Calculating the boat’s position had to be done using VHF direction finding because there seemed to be no GPS and two lifeboats – Humber and Skegness were tasked to find the vessel.

Other vessels on the scene also came in to help the search.

It was also decided to call in the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Humberside because of the potentially serious nature of the incident. 

Hull Coastguard Rescue Team was also tasked as initially it was thought the crew might need hospital treatment, but was stood down because both were uninjured. 

The vessel is being towed back to Grimsby by the Humber Lifeboat.