Two men have been rescued by the Hartlepool Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) after their fishing kayak capsized near Middleton, Hartlepool.
The RNLI received a call from Humber Coastguard at 6:08 pm on Monday, April 8th. The inshore lifeboat ‘Solihull’ was launched with four crew members and reached the men within minutes.
An RNLI crew member entered the water to assist the men, who were clinging to their kayak and visibly distressed. The men were brought aboard the inshore lifeboat and taken back to the Ferry Road lifeboat station for initial care before being transferred to an ambulance.
Ken Hay, Inshore lifeboat helm, said: “The casualties were in the sea for about 20 minutes and were suffering from the cold and had swallowed seawater. We were able to quickly return them to the lifeboat station and they began to recover. They were later taken to the hospital for further assessment.”
Photo: Tom Collins/RNLI