Firefighters and coastguard rescue man in rowing boat stuck in mud
Firefighters were called to reports of a person in a rowing boat stuck in mud near Heybridge this evening.
Crews from Wivenhoe and Tollesbury worked with coastguard colleagues to rescue a man stuck in the water using line rescue paths. As well as using drones to monitor the incident.
The man downloaded the what3words app to help firefighters and the coastguard identify his location. He was brought to safety by 8pm.
Water Incident Manager Dave Bond said: “The man became stranded in the mud, about 200m from the shore as the tide went out.
“The crews did an amazing job and worked really well with the coastguard to form a plan and establish safe systems to rescue him.
“It was a great example of joint working to rescue the man in a safe and effective manner.
“Using what3words helped us to reach the man quickly and I’d encourage the public to download the app, it’s free and it could help emergency services locate you quickly when you need help.”
Have you downloaded what3words?
what3words is a free smartphone app that can help the emergency services to find your location.
The app has broken the world into trillions of 3 metre by 3 metre squares, each with a unique three-word address. These three words can then be used to pinpoint your location more accurately.
Our Service Control teams use what3words as one of the tools to help them get our crews to your as quickly as possible.
