Members of Tenby RNLI were involved in a dramatic sea rescue on a busy Bank Holiday Saturday evening that saw a casualty pulled from the water after their yacht was destroyed by fire.

Emergency services, including fire crews were all on the scene at Tenby harbour for several hours whilst Tenby’s all-weather lifeboat the Haydn Miller conducted checks around the locality for any further casualties.

The lifeboat had been tasked to launch just after 7pm on Saturday, May 25, following a report of smoke sighted offshore by a member of the public at Stackpole.

Tenby RNLI yacht fire
On reaching the scene, they found a 35ft yacht which had been almost totally destroyed by fire and the occupant of the yacht in the water, barely afloat (Tenby RNLI)

The Tenby volunteer crew were quickly on the water and as they rounded St Margaret’s Island just off Caldey, they spotted smoke on the horizon, some 12 miles south.

On reaching the scene, they found a 35ft yacht which had been almost totally destroyed by fire and the occupant of the yacht in the water, barely afloat and disappearing under the surface.

A crew member immediately entered the water to keep the casualty afloat, whilst the remaining crew readied to bring him aboard.

Yacht on fire
Members of Tenby RNLI were involved in a dramatic sea rescue on Saturday evening that saw a casualty pulled from the water after a yacht was destroyed by fire. (Tenby RNLI)

Once onboard, casualty care was administered, while the lifeboat made best speed to the harbour at Tenby, where multiple Welsh Ambulance resources were waiting.

With the casualty unable to confirm if he was alone on the yacht or not, the lifeboat then headed back to the scene to commence a search, where they were also joined by Angle all-weather lifeboat and Coastguard rescue helicopters from St Athan and Newquay in Cornwall.

Having thoroughly searched the area for several hours in choppy seas and heavy rain, and with nobody else reported missing, the search was brought to an end and all assets stood down, with the lifeboat returning to station, arriving just after 1am.

“We’d like to thanks our colleagues at Milford Haven Coastguard, Angle Lifeboat RNLI and Coastguard rescue helicopters from St Athan and Newquay for their help in this complex search and also to the Welsh Ambulance service and Tenby Fire Station,” said a spokesperson for Tenby RNLI.

Yacht rescue
With the casualty unable to confirm if he was alone on the yacht or not, the lifeboat headed back to the scene to commence a search (Tenby RNLI)

“I was a great multi-agency effort.”

A spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: “We sent two emergency ambulances to the scene, where the crews were supported by two Cymru high acuity response unit paramedics and a Community First Responder.

“Advanced critical care support was delivered by the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service in a Wales Air Ambulance helicopter. One person was taken by road ambulance to hospital.”