Dramatic coastguard helicopter rescue featured in Channel 5’s Coastguard: Search & Rescue SOS
Exclusive footage from the new third series shows a perilous winch operation off East Sussex as a yacht is battered by rough seas ahead of the premiere.
An urgent coastguard helicopter rescue was captured as a skipper’s yacht battled powerful waves off Newhaven, East Sussex, during a spell of strong winds and rough tides on the south coast. The vessel was driven toward the harbour wall with water washing over the cockpit, and lifeboat crews were unable to reach in time. Coastguard Helicopter Rescue 163, based at Lydd in Kent, lifted off to attempt a life-saving rescue. The dramatic sequence is featured in the opening episode of the new third series of Channel 5’s Coastguard: Search & Rescue SOS, which airs at 9 p.m. tomorrow.
As the helicopter closed in, the crew’s communications underscored the danger as the yacht was hammered by the sea. A rescuer is heard noting the urgency of the operation and that the team may be the only ones able to reach the skipper. Moments after a massive wave hits the boat, the operation continues with the winch team moving in closer. The full episode later shows the skipper being winched to safety along with the winch paramedic, a moment that the producers describe as among the most daring in recent memory. The skipper sustained multiple injuries, including several broken bones, and was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton before being discharged.
The documentary series provides a window into the work of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as it coordinates search-and-rescue missions and investigates fatal incidents. The first episode also features a coastguard fixed-wing surveillance flight using advanced camera technology to monitor potential sources of marine pollution, and another sequence that recounts a rescue of a passenger from a commercial ferry in the Irish Sea, where an 86-year-old traveler suffered severe bleeding and required urgent evacuation.
A clip of the Newhaven rescue was shared exclusively with the Daily Mail, and producers described the sequence as one of the most daring and frightening rescues in recent memory.
Coastguard: Search & Rescue SOS airs on Channel 5 at 9 p.m. tomorrow; the series continues to follow MCA operations and human stories behind the rescues.