Lifeboats rescue man from drowning as yacht catches fire on Tenby coast
The 35ft boat had almost been destroyed when rescue crews arrived
Rescue lifeboats have managed to save a man from drowning as the yacht he was sailing on caught fire off the Welsh coast.
Responders first received reports of an incident just after 7pm on Saturday (May 26th), as smoked appeared to billow on the horizon near the town of Stackpole.
Officers from the RNLI were deployed to look at the area as other locations such as St Margaret's Island were crossed.
As the crew came towards the smoke, they discovered a yacht measuring 35ft had caught fire and was almost completely destroyed.
The person on the yacht was barely keeping himself afloat and was described by the RNLI in a statement as "disappearing under the surface".
Upon seeing the situation, one member of the team immediately got into the water and was able to save the occupant of the boat as the rest of the yacht continued to burn and fall beneath the water.
Once he was rescued, the victim was given emergency care to keep him alive, as the Welsh Ambulance Service was scrambled to meet the rescue team at nearby Tenby.
After being taken onto the mainland by officers, the RNLI went back out to the scene to confirm there had been no extra casualties requiring rescue.
Emergency helicopters from Newquay in Cornwall were also called on to assist in the search as the sun went down, and eventually determined there were no other people to be looking out for.
Heavy rain and choppy seas hampered the rescue services' efforts, but Tenby RNLI were able to safely make their return, arriving back just after 1 a.m..
The RNLI said: "Weâd like to thanks our colleagues at Milford Haven Coastguard, Angle Lifeboat RNLI and Coastguard rescue helicopters from St Athan and Newquay for their help in this complex search and also to the Welsh Ambulance service and Tenby Fire Station. A great multi-agency effort."