Family rescued after boat sinks off Torquay coast
A dad has been praised, after his quick thinking led his family to be rescued, when their boat began to sink.
Last updated 11th Nov 2020
A dad-of-four has been hailed a hero after getting his family to safety, when their boat began to sink off the coast of Devon.
They got into trouble by the natural feature on the coast, known as London Bridge in Torquay, on Tuesday afternoon.
After the boat began to sink, he managed to run the 24ft vessel aground on some rocks, allowing his family - including a baby and three children - to be saved.
They were rescued by lifeboats and taken to the shore.
'This man’s quick thinking saved his family’s life'
RNLI Torbay Coxswain Mark Criddle said: “This man did absolutely the right thing in running their boat onto the rocks where they all managed to scramble to safety.
“We launched both RNLI Torbay lifeboats to the scene because their position was unsure and we knew we had to find them quickly.
“When we arrived on scene our volunteers ferried the young children one by one to the safety of our all-weather lifeboat, followed by the adults.
“The family were distressed but otherwise unharmed although their vessel could not be saved. This man’s quick thinking saved his family’s life.”
Two boats from the Torbay Harbour Authority also attended the scene to recover debris and disperse spilled fuel.