Watch moment 32 kayakers on school trip are rescued after being swept out into North Sea
Dramatic footage shows the moment a group of young kayakers needed rescuing after being swept out to sea during a school water sports trip.
The group of 32 children and adults got into difficulty in the North Sea while kayaking and paddle-boarding at Cullercoats Bay, in North Tyneside. Several lifeboats from RNLI teams across the region were sent to the bay to reports of a large number of people in distress in the water.
Nearby fishing vessels were also asked to help retrieve people during the huge rescue operation and a council investigation has now been launched. It is believed the schoolchildren and several adults were caught out and blown offshore by strong force 5 winds, which can reach up to 24 mph.
The RNLI confirmed all those involved were brought safely to the shore, although one teen was taken to hospital by ambulance to be checked over. Now North Tyneside Council has revealed it has launched an investigation to determine if any action is needed to prevent similar events from happening in the future.
A spokesperson for North Tyneside Council said: "The Council can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation. We can’t say anything more than that at this time."
The council also confirmed it was a school involved in the incident, which happened at around 12:30pm on June 23. It is understood the Health and Safety Executive carried out initial enquiries in the days after the incident before subsequently passing the investigation back to the council.
A spokesperson for the HSE said: "We were notified about the incident, but it now falls to the council as the relevant enforcement body." Tynemouth RNLI confirmed that lifeboat crews rescued 13 children and five adults from the water while the rest of the group managed to safely return to shore themselves.
Lifeboats from Cullercoats and Blyth were also sent to the scene. Sam Clow, Coxswain at Tynemouth RNLI, said: “The tasking we got was to 32 children and adults who had been caught unawares by the wind and were being blown off shore.
"We worked together with Cullercoats RNLI, who arrived at the scene before us, RNLI lifeguards and others, and brought them all back safely. Every child we got to had an adult with them and, when we debriefed with them afterwards, we heard that they had done everything correctly when they became aware of the difficulties they were in.”
Lifeguard George Legg who was at the scene said: “It was an intense situation with force 5 winds blowing outside the harbour creating lots of wind chop. The lifeboat arrived and gradually took casualties away whilst we stayed out and made sure there were no threats and everyone was stable.”
Senior Lifeguard Alfie Meeson who was also at the scene said the situation "unfolded so quickly". He also said: "I’m glad we were able work efficiently with the other emergency services to get a positive outcome for the casualties and I am really proud of the team.”