Two men, one suffering badly from exposure were rescued by Llandudno RNLI lifeboat last night after their outboard-powered inflatable boats both ran out of fuel some way off Old Colwyn, North Wales.
Before the alarm was raised one of the men had tried, unsuccessfully, to swim ashore in the darkness but had been forced to return to his boat where his condition was now deteriorating rapidly due to the effects of immersion and the cold temperature.
Llandudno’s inshore lifeboat was called out by Coastguards at 7 p.m. and after arriving in Colwyn Bay by road launched from there twelve minutes later. The lifeboat crew quickly took the two casualties on board and in view of their condition transferred them immediately to the beach, then in the RNLI Landrover to the waiting ambulance which had earlier been called in by the RNLI Helmsman.
Whilst the pair were being treated by the ambulance crew the lifeboat went back to sea to recover the two inflatables to the pier slipway before returning by road back to Llandudno.
