NCI PORTHCAWL ORGANISE RESCUE OF WALKERS IN DANGER

19th July 2022. During a visual scan of the coastline, the watchkeepers on the evening watch at the National Coastwatch Institution station at Porthcawl observed on a number of people trying to ford the estuary of the River Ogmore from the Merthyr Mawr side to the Ogomore by Sea car park.

However, high spring tides meant there was a high flow rate of water pushing up the river and halfway across the people realised they could not continue due to the depth of water and the tidal flow and started to turn back.

The volunteer watchkeepers at NCI Porthcawl immediately contacted HM Coastguard at Milford Haven and requested if the Porthcawl Inshore Lifeboat, who was returning from another incident at Witches point, could check that everyone was safe. At the same time, they created a visual link from the NCI Coastal monitoring camera at Ogmore by Sea to the Coastguard team at Milford Haven so that they could also see what was happening.

Consequently, the ILB recovered a total of 19 people plus a dog and brought them back to safety, a total of 5 trips back and forth the river mouth. The Coastguard at Llantwit Major was tasked to make sure all the people were safe and given safety advice. The Estuary of the river Ogmore is one of the most dangerous spots along the coastline monitored by the NCI at Porthcawl.

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About

Currently almost 60 National Coastwatch stations are operational and manned by over 2600 volunteer watchkeepers around the British Isles from Fleetwood in the North West, through Wales, to the South and East of England to Filey in North Yorkshire. 

National Coastwatch watchkeepers provide the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. They are trained to deal with emergencies offering a variety of skills and experience, and full training by the National Coastwatch ensures that high standards are met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The words National Coastwatch Institution and Eyes Along the Coast and the NCI logos are Registered Trademarks of NCI.

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