A walker was taken to hospital on Friday (March 16th) with suspected spinal injuries after suffering a fall near Burnham-On-Sea Sailing Club.
A team of Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards was called at just before 4.30pm after a quick-thinking crewmember from Clevedon Coastguard spotted the man who had fallen down the rocky bank along the River Brue tow path.
A spokesman for Burnham-On-Sea Coastguard said: “The person was thought to have spinal injuries so it was important to stabilise him once the alarm had been raised.”
“Our HM Coastguard operations room tasked our team, the police and an ambulance.”
“Once the Police arrived on scene there were more people to help to stabilise the person and keep the person calm.”
“Crews placed the man in a neck collar to ensure no more damage was done to the man’s spine.”
After assessing the man’s condition, it was clear he needed to be taken to hospital and so the Coastguard team helped safely move the man onto a spinal board and into a waiting ambulance for transport to hospital.
Coastguards thanked their Clevedon colleague for raising the alarm. “Lucky for the guy one of our Coastguards from Clevedon was in the immediate area and without hesitation he called it in and took charge of the person until further assets arrived.”
“It goes to show that no matter where or when, if an emergency occurs then we are always ready. Fantastic multi-agency team work from different services all carried out in friendly and professional environment.”
“One thing we would like to highlight is that we fielded many calls from people saying that it was to do with the missing person Dean Tate. This wasn’t the case and we ask that people bear in mind this is still an ongoing incident by the Police and not to assume any different until official information is received.”
If you see anyone in danger or difficulty, always call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Pictured: Coastguards at the scene of Friday evening’s incident in Burnham-On-Sea (Photos: Burnham Coastguard)
