A major land, sea and air search was mounted amid concerns a person was in difficulty of the Anglesey coast. A member of the public reported a possible sighting in the water along with cries of “help”.
From the beach, the bystander heard what they thought was someone shouting and could see a distant object in the water in the Red Wharf Bay area. The emergency response, on Friday morning, December 27, included two lifeboats, a Coastguard helicopter and two Coastguard teams.
When team members from Moelfre and Penmon arrived on the beach, the witness showed them photos of what they had seen. As a result, the search area was initially focused near the Tavern on the Bay gastropub at the southern end of Benllech Beach.
At 11am, RNLI Moelfre inshore and all-weather lifeboats were dispatched. They began systematically combing a vast area of coastal waters between Llanddona and Moelfre.
The two boats were joined by Rescue Helicopter 936. On-foot Coastguard teams searched Llanddona Beach over to Red Wharf Bay.
After an exhaustive search lasting almost three hours, all teams were stood down at 1.48pm. Nothing was found.
However the RNLI said the witness was right to raise the alarm given the growing popularity of cold water swimming. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
The multi-agency operation included Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 936
(Image: Chris Rilley/Moelfre Coastguard)
Search pattern by RNLI Moelfre’s all-weather lifeboat
(Image: Marine Traffic)
RNLI Moelfre coxswain Vince Jones said. “Although this incident was a false alarm with good intent, it again demonstrated a massive multi-agency effort to ensure no person was in danger. If indeed it was the case, they would have been found and saved quickly with all the land, sea and air rescue assets involved.
“Thanks to our colleagues at Holyhead Coastguard, all search assets carried out multiple, detailed, and coordinated searches. With cold water and open water swimming being so popular these days, the person concerned did the right thing to call for help.
“Thanks to our volunteers who left their families during the festive break to assist with the search.” Get the best island stories from our Anglesey newsletter – sent every Friday
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