Storms and statistics – another lifesaving year for the RNLI in Scotland
Scotland’s lifeboat charity rescued over 1,000 people last year.
The RNLI launched its boats 1,078 times in 2015 with 29 of those rescued being in immediate danger of death.
In total, boats rescued 1,046 people and RNLI lifeguards stationed at five beaches in Scotland between them dealt with 116 incidents.
Additionally, crews also assisted other emergency services and the public during recent storms and flooding in Scotland.
In December the Girvan lifeboat crew worked with other emergency services to help members of the public escape a bus which had been caught in flood water.
Our volunteer lifeboat crew and lifeguards have again worked exceptionally hard serving our local communities
During the first week of the new year in Aberdeen the lifeboat crew used rocket propelled lines to help SSE restore power after storms and flooding.
Michael Avril, RNLI community incident reduction manager in central Scotland, said: “Our volunteer lifeboat crew and lifeguards have again worked exceptionally hard serving our local communities. We continue to urge those working on or enjoying our coastline and inland areas to respect the water.”
Matt Crofts, RNLI operations, added: “We would like to thank all of our volunteers for their tireless hard work and dedication over the last 12 months, without all of our volunteers, fundraisers and education teams our lifesaving service would not operate.”
The busiest lifeboat station in Scotland in 2015 was Broughty Ferry where the crew went to sea 92 times.
The most common reason for lifeboat launches was to assist sailing pleasure crafts, closely followed by call outs to boats with machinery failure.
Looking ahead, Leesa Harwood, RNLI community lifesaving and fundraising director, asked supporters of the charity to continue their support as it changes over to an opt in method of communication.
She said: “Help us by ticking our opt-in box over the next few months – to hear about our rescues, our safety advice, and our events and help us save the lives of hundreds more in the years to come.
“Look out for our future opt-in campaign, or call our supporter care team on 0300 300 9918 (UK).”
WATCH A COMPILATION VIDEO OF THE RNLI'S MOST DARING SCOTTISH RESCUES
