Police chopper steers two sea rescues
(CNS): Two men who were tipped from a kayak and five boaters struggling to return to shore were rescued at the weekend after the RCIPS Air Operations Unit coordinated the response to the two separate incidents caused by rough weather Sunday. Just before 3pm the police helicopter located two men whose canoe had capsized and were struggling to regain control of it due to the weather conditions. A civilian vessel responded to a call from the AOU and brought the men to shore, where they were met by police and found to be unhurt.
Just 45 minutes later, the chopper located a boat with five people on board that was experiencing difficulties at sea off North Church Street and needed help getting back to shore. The crew coordinated a response on the water by both the Cayman Islands Fire Service rescue team and the Cayman Islands Coast Guard. The vessel was towed ashore and all of its occupants were found to be well.
Thanking the members of the public and the agencies who helped in the successful rescue, the AOU urged boaters to be mindful of the weather conditions when planning watersports activities, especially during weather and shipping warnings, as was the case this past Easter weekend.
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Category: Local News
When people recklessly venture out in rough weather and need rescuing, they should be billed for the cost of the resources used to rescue them plus a “stupidity fine” on top of that.
Use some common sense people, that weather was nothing to be out in a kayak in!
The Port Authority has a powerful patrol vessel, but I’ve never seen it in the water. What’s it used for?, even in cruise ship days it seemed to be on the dock.
Great work and yet again showing why Cayman needs these helicopters. Must be great to see and hear them when you are in trouble away from land.
Yes very good the rescues occurred. But ‘needs’? Job could have been done at half the price with a drone. (Not a quad-copter but a fixed-wing drone that’s still smaller/cheaper than a helicopter.)