A fisherman was rescued this morning, Sunday 10th March after going overboard off the coast of Salcombe.
The fisherman, who had been in the water for an hour was found by his own crew.
A Mayday broadcast was made just before 4.45am. The HM search and rescue helicopter, along with RNLI crews from Salcombe and Torbay attended the incident.
A French Navy aircraft who has been training in the area at the time and a number of fishing vessels also joined the search.
He was found by his own crewmates an hour into the search and winched from the water by the coastguard helicopter. He was flown to Plymouth Hospital.
HM Coastguard Duty Controller Dai Jones said: ‘We could not have hoped for a better outcome. Our own Coastguard helicopter, A French Navy helicopter, along with a number of fishing vessels and the RNLI, had been searching for nearly an hour this morning in very rough seas and challenging weather conditions. Thankfully, the fisherman was wearing a lifejacket, which no doubt aided his survival and enabled his crewmates to find him quickly.
‘By taking this simple safety precaution means that when he fell into the water his survival time increased significantly, despite the cold water and the horrendous weather conditions.
‘This could have been a very different outcome today had he not been wearing his lifejacket and we commend his actions, which have assisted in saving his life. We wish him a speedy recovery.’
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