Six people 'in real peril' saved from sinking boat

The vessel had run aground, was taking on water and listing heavily on the River Bure

A helicopter and rescue boat were used to save six people from a sinking vessel that was taking on water after running aground.

Hemsby Broads Rescue was called to the River Bure near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk at about 21:50 BST on Sunday.

Five people were taken by boat to a safe mooring but a sixth person, who was recovering from major surgery, was airlifted from the boat.

Hemsby Lifeboat said those on board had been in "real peril" and described the rescue as a "true team effort".

All six people onboard were transported to safety

Daniel Hurd, coxswain of the independent Hemsby Lifeboat, praised HM Coastguard for their command role, saying six people would have been in real peril without swift and co-ordinated action.

"They'd had some sort of mechanical issue with the winch on the vessel and it kept dropping and they drifted into the mud and became stuck," he said.

"The vessel was at a 45-degree angle; it was taking on water.

"We managed to quickly get on board to get five casualties off, but the gentleman who had an operation to his leg — he could barely walk.

"Humber Coastguard had a helicopter on the way so we said 'this guy needs airlifting' because it was a struggle getting the people off who could walk — they were sliding down the vessel.

"It was quite a challenging job."

Dan Hurd, coxswain of Hemsby Lifeboat, says he and a fellow crewmember had to be airlifted from the vessel because they could not get back into their rescue boat

Mr Hurd said he understood workers from the boat yard that owns the vessel would attend the site to assess recovery, which will require pumping out.

"They were in a lot of danger. Me and another crew member were on board but all of a sudden the vessel started taking on a lot of water so I think we got them off in the right time.

"But even me and my other crew member had to get airlifted off ourselves, because the broads lifeboat we couldn't get in. It was a complete struggle."