Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards and BARB crews were called out on Sunday (Januay 14th) following a sighting of a ‘person’ in a local river estuary.
The HM Coastguard Operations Room in Milford Haven had received a call to a suspected person face down in the water in the River Parrett near Bridgwater.
Burnham Coastguard, Weston Coastguards, BARB Search & Rescue, the Coastguard Helicopter, Fire Service, Police, and an Ambulance were requested amid concern this was a life-threatening incident.
“The first units on scene managed to get close enough to identify the suspected casualty was in fact an inanimate object and not a person,” a Burnham Coastguard spokesman told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“As there was no danger to life, all proceeding units were stood down. While many assets were alerted, this shows the importance and priority we place on a person’s life. There can be no price placed on it – it’s better to have units proceeding and stood down rather than needed and not on scene.”
“The person who called in the information did exactly the right thing and this could’ve been something a lot worse. We are all happy that the outcome was good and no one was in danger.”
