Published Date:
04 July 2009
A distressed man sparked a helicopter and lifeboat search.
Police and coastguard teams were called after a report that a 59-year-old man appeared distressed on the cliff tops near Featherbed Rocks in Seaham yesterday night.
Two RNLI lifeboats from Sunderland, along with a helicopter from the police's North East Air Support Unit, were scrambled to assist the shore-based teams in searching the two-mile stretch of coastline between Featherbed and Salterfern Rocks.
Duncan Gomes, helmsman at Sunderland RNLI, said: "Our initial concern was that this person may have fallen to the base of the cliffs, which are very inaccessible from shore-side.
"We were asked to carry out a coastal search along the base of the cliffs between Featherbed and Salterfern Rocks."
After about 30 minutes emergency teams found the man on a small cliff above Seaham promenade.
He was assisted down from the cliff by police and coastguard teams.
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Last Updated:
04 July 2009 9:02 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Sunderland
