Rescue operation in St Mary

On behalf of the Council of Ministers and the States Assembly, I would like to thank all our emergency services for their courageous work in extremely difficult conditions last night, when a dinghy carrying two people was reported missing off Les Ecrehous.

 

The emergency ended when the two men were found on the reef and airlifted to hospital in Jersey, but it was compounded earlier when the Channel Island Air Search plane, which was helping to search for the boat, had to make an emergency landing in St Mary.

 

States of Jersey Police officers, honorary officers, fire fighters from the St Helier and a retained crew from the Western Fire Station responded to the plane's emergency landing, and when all five people on board were safe, fire crews worked alongside police and Airport Rescue & Firefighting Service to make the aircraft and surrounding area safe.

 

The search and rescue operation continued at sea late into the night and I would like to thank all those who took part in it. It was a difficult search operation in high winds and I would like to pay tribute to the dedication of all the emergency services from Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, France and the UK, who worked in such horrendous weather conditions to deal with this incident. It is a testament to their courage and persistence that this emergency ended without serious injury.