Prince William Co-pilots Rescue Helicopter
http://dervishcom.blogspot.com/2011/11/prince-william-co-pilots-rescue.html
The Duke of Cambridge helped pluck two shipwrecked sailors from a raging sea in a dramatic rescue, but five other crewmen were missing feared drowned last night.
Prince William’s RAF search and rescue helicopter was scrambled in the early hours yesterday after the 267ft Swanland sank with its cargo of 3,000 tons of limestone after being hit by a massive wave off the North Wales coast.
He was co-piloting the Sea King in 50mph winds as the crew from his base, RAF Valley in Anglesey, spotted the second officer and a crewmate in the sea and winched them to safety.
The body of one of the sailors’ crewmates was later discovered, but despite scouring 300 square miles of the Irish Sea, rescuers found no trace of the remaining five members of the Russian crew before the search was called off for the night.
Coastguards said they would reassess the situation this morning. The Swanland, which is registered in the Cook Islands but owned by a firm based in Grimsby, was carrying limestone quarried in North Wales from Raynes Jetty to Cowes on the Isle of Wight when it came to grief.
When the mayday call was made at 2am yesterday, it quickly became clear that the bulk carrier was doomed after being hit by an enormous wave that cracked its hull around 20 miles off the Lleyn peninsula.
As the Swanland sank, its eight-man crew – all believed to have been wearing survival suits – took to life rafts in the stormy water, which would have been a chilly 14-15c (57-59f).
The helicopter co-piloted by William – known in the RAF as Flight Lieutenant Wales – quickly traced the second officer and an able seaman in a life raft as winds touched gale force nine, and they were flown to Anglesey for check-ups.
Ray Carson of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Holyhead, who described the rescue as ‘outstanding work given the conditions’, said: ‘The ’copter crew definitely saved the life of two men.’
The crew were joined by two rescue helicopters from Ireland and counterparts from RAF Chivenor in Devon, as well as lifeboats from Porth Dinllaen, Pwllheli and Abersoch.
A life raft beached off Bardsey Island could not be checked last night because of dangerous rocks, but rescuers fear there is little chance of finding anyone else alive.
Prince William’s RAF search and rescue helicopter was scrambled in the early hours yesterday after the 267ft Swanland sank with its cargo of 3,000 tons of limestone after being hit by a massive wave off the North Wales coast.
He was co-piloting the Sea King in 50mph winds as the crew from his base, RAF Valley in Anglesey, spotted the second officer and a crewmate in the sea and winched them to safety.
The body of one of the sailors’ crewmates was later discovered, but despite scouring 300 square miles of the Irish Sea, rescuers found no trace of the remaining five members of the Russian crew before the search was called off for the night.
Coastguards said they would reassess the situation this morning. The Swanland, which is registered in the Cook Islands but owned by a firm based in Grimsby, was carrying limestone quarried in North Wales from Raynes Jetty to Cowes on the Isle of Wight when it came to grief.
When the mayday call was made at 2am yesterday, it quickly became clear that the bulk carrier was doomed after being hit by an enormous wave that cracked its hull around 20 miles off the Lleyn peninsula.
As the Swanland sank, its eight-man crew – all believed to have been wearing survival suits – took to life rafts in the stormy water, which would have been a chilly 14-15c (57-59f).
The helicopter co-piloted by William – known in the RAF as Flight Lieutenant Wales – quickly traced the second officer and an able seaman in a life raft as winds touched gale force nine, and they were flown to Anglesey for check-ups.
Ray Carson of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Holyhead, who described the rescue as ‘outstanding work given the conditions’, said: ‘The ’copter crew definitely saved the life of two men.’
The crew were joined by two rescue helicopters from Ireland and counterparts from RAF Chivenor in Devon, as well as lifeboats from Porth Dinllaen, Pwllheli and Abersoch.
A life raft beached off Bardsey Island could not be checked last night because of dangerous rocks, but rescuers fear there is little chance of finding anyone else alive.
