Two men have been rescued in Jersey after their boat hit rocks and sank off the south coast.

The pair made an emergency call for help from their mobile phone after their small motorboat broke down between Noirmont Point and Corbiere. There was a strong southerly wind and the men were in imminent danger of drifting on to rocks.

Both men were taken to St Helier marina by emergency crews. Both lifeboats as well as the island's two pilot boats and the fire service rescue boat responded. The pair were met by paramedics and are being treated for hypothermia and back injuries.

Jonathan Lee, Press Officer, RNLI St Helier, told channelonline.tv: "When the lifeboats arrived on scene at 11:15 the vessel was found to have capsized and the two occupants had been washed up onto rocks just below La Fret Point, between Ouaisne and Portelet. The inshore lifeboat then nosed into the rocks to recover the casualties and transferred them to the all-weather lifeboat where they were treated for possible hypothermia."

Jersey Coastguard say this was a major incident which could have resulted in loss of life.

Captain Bob Vezier said: "This serves as a pertinent reminder to all small boat owners and operators, of the importance of checking the weather forecast before they set out and ensuring they have all the necessary life saving equipment on board: including lifejackets, handheld VHF and flares and are able to use them in the event of an incident. A mobile phone does not enable us to ascertain your position if you were to encounter a problem at sea, where as a VHF allows us to accurately pinpoint your location."

Currently displaying the top 1 comments

View all 1 comments

Currently displaying the top 1 comments

View all 1 comments