Woman rescued from freezing North Sea by lifeboat after Hartlepool 999 alert
A woman was taken to hospital after they were rescued from the freezing North Sea by lifeboat.
The alarm was raised off the coast of Hartlepool on Friday, January 16, at around 9.45pm.
Both the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) all-weather lifeboat John Sharp and inshore lifeboat Solihull were launched with the inshore lifeboat finding the casualty minutes later near the Heugh Breakwater.
The woman was suffering from hyperthermia and was treated on the lifeboat before they were taken back to shore and then to hospital.
Police, Hartlepool Coastguard Rescue and the North East Ambulance Service also attended the incident.
Hartlepool RNLI lifeboat operations manager Steve Pounder said: “Once again a quick response from the volunteer crew brought the incident to a satisfactory conclusion.
"We train for incidents such as this which we can only do with donations from the public and help from our fundraising team.”
Inshore lifeboat helm Ken Hay also praised the crew’s “good teamwork” and wished the casualty a quick recovery.