Sailors stuck in mud winched to safety by rescue helicopter

TWO sailors had to be winched to safety after their boat became stuck in mud near Fawley Power Station.

Coastguard rescue teams from Lymington and Hill Head were sent along with a Calshot RNLI crew in response to reports the vessel was in difficulty shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.

However, the low water level prevented the lifeboat from getting near the stricken boat.

The failing light also prompted the decision to deploy the Bristow Group Coastguard Rescue 175 helicopter to reach the pair.

They were both winched to the aircraft which then flew them to a nearby landing site set up by the coastguard teams.

A post on the Calshot RNLI Lifeboat Facebook page afterwards said: “At 3.06pm our volunteer crew were tasked to a vessel stuck in the mud near Fawley Power Station.

“The water level was too low to allow even our D-class ‘Willett’ to get in close enough to extract the casualties, so the decision was made for Bristow Group R-175 to airlift them to safety.

“Another fantastic multi-agency effort alongside our friends and colleagues at Hill Head Coastguard Rescue Team and Lymington Coastguard Rescue Team.”