According to a Metro report, a 55-year-old father has drowned after a rip current swept him away while swimming off the Yorkshire coast.
The man had been swimming with his two children at Reighton Gap on 22 July in the afternoon. An unexpected current caused the family to drift away from the shore. Eventually, passersby noticed that they needed help.
Micky Free, a holidaymaker in the vicinity who was concerned about the trio, launched a drone that he used to identify their whereabouts at sea.
Gemma, Micky Free’s wife, and nearby swimmers set out to find the children and were able to get them to safety. Gemma rescued the son while others rescued the daughter. The cihdlren were taken to a hospital and assessed for injuries.
Meanwhile, a lifeboat crew from RLNI in Filey picked up the father and delivered him to emergency crews waiting onshore. Despite the paramedic’s best efforts, he was later pronounced dead.
John Ward of Filey RLNI thanked volunteers for working together through the “harrowing experience.” Drone Pilot Micky Free also extended his gratitude towards those who helped and commemorated those who put themselves at risk helping strangers.
The incident is just one of several recent call-outs for the RLNI in relation to swimmers being caught out in unexpected rip tides, according to an RLNI spokesman.
In the previous week, six teenagers suffered from cuts, bruising, shock, and other injuries in Hornsea South Beach after a rip swept them away and threw them against the seawall. In 2019, there were seven alerts relating to swimmers swept out to sea in a single week.
Coastguards have warned that the Reighton Gap area, 4 miles south of Filey, is prone to rip tides and advises swimmers to use caution.
If you are booking a camping trip this year and planning on visiting the beach, please do some research before you go, especially if its a new area you are visiting.
