Incidents

We are tasked by the emergency services, including HM Coastguaard, Fire & Rescue, Police and the Ambulance Services. Our teams are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Below are the callouts that we have attended.

• #114: Sandhurst Lane, Gloucester 26-12-20

  At 0736 hrs the Sharpness crew were tasked to an evacuation of a resident from Sandhurst Lane.
  An SRT team were deployed to the incident where they launched a boat into the flood water, and made their way to the property.
  With the evacuation complete, all assets were stood down by 1030hrs.

  26th Dec 2020

  26th Dec 2020

• #113: Monmouth & Wye 25-12-20

  The SARA Beachley boats were called upon to support Gwent Police with a search in the River Wye, starting mid-morning on Christmas Day. We deployed SARA Rescue 5 close to Monmouth and also launched SARA Lifeboat 3 to search the lower Wye. Our colleagues from Longtown Mountain Rescue Team were also involved in the operation.
  The teams were stood down around 3pm, with nothing having been found and the search remains ongoing. Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the missing person concerned at this difficult time.
  Many thanks (once again!) to all the volunteers who responded, and to their families.

  25th Dec 2020

  25th Dec 2020

• #112: Newbridge-on-Usk 24-12-20

  No sooner had the flood team returned to Beachley from the long night in Monmouth than they were called out to Newbridge-on-Usk, where a vehicle was stuck in floodwater.
  Team members headed out again, though the fire service were in the process of rescuing the driver as the SARA vehicles arrived on scene. However other SARA crew happened upon another car stuck in flood water in the Usk Valley, and were able to move it and its occupant to safety. Not exactly a ‘life saved’ but definitely a ‘good deed done’.

  24th Dec 2020

  24th Dec 2020

• #111: Monmouth 23/24-12-20

  The SARA Beachley Flood Team, and the flood team from SARA Newport, spent the night at Monmouth Fire Station, on standby to assist South Wales Fire & Rescue Service with flooding emergencies in the Monmouth area.
  The two teams arrived for a briefing just before 10pm on 23 Dec, alongside Fire Service teams from across Gwent and other emergency services. One of the SARA teams was stood down at 3.30am on Christmas Eve, and the other at 7am. Despite large surges of water in the Monnow and the Wye following the torrential rain, none of the various teams needed to deploy overnight.

  23rd Dec 2020

  23rd Dec 2020

• #110: Quenington (East of Cirencester) 23-11-20

  Search teams were called out to Quenington, near Cirencester, to support Gloucestershire Constabulary with a search for a high risk missing person. Land search teams from SARA Tewkesbury and Beachley and water rescue teams from SARA Sharpness were supported by members of Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group, Wiltshire Search and Rescue and two dog teams from SARDA (South Wales), as well as the police helicopter.

  After several hours of searching rural areas, including rivers and thick woodlands, the missing man was located safe and well – by one of several joint SARA / Cave / WilSAR search parties.

  23rd Nov 2020

  23rd Nov 2020

• #109: Newport 17-11-20

  SAR Newport was tasked at 2330 with an immediate launch to an incident in Newport City Centre, along with units from Malpas Fire station.
  Shortly after the crew were mobilised the incident was resolved by Gwent Police and the crew were stood down just after midnight.

  17th Nov 2020

  17th Nov 2020

• #108: Goldcliff 12-11-20

  The SARA Newport lifeboat was called out shortly before 4pm, to assist with the rescue of an injured fisherman from rocks near Goldcliff, on the Bristol Channel seawall. Ambulance personnel and Chepstow Coastguard were already on scene, and the injured man was winched off the rocks and evacuated by the Coastguard helicopter. The SARA crew was not required and was stood down while en route to launching.

  12th Nov 2020

  12th Nov 2020

• #107: Bradford on Avon 05 & 06-11-20

  On 5 Nov SARA Sharpness crew deployed to the Bradford On Avon area, to assisting Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Search and Rescue with an ongoing missing person – this was Day 9 of the major multi-agency search. SARA deployed a boat to assist both with searches of the waterways, and transporting specialist search dogs around the river.
  The following day, 6 Nov, SARA Sharpness deployed two teams. The first launched a boat and searched the downstream side of a weir, and the second deployed an SRT team to search the upstream side. Due to the strength of flow above the weir, the SRT crew set up a tethered raft, allowing them to safely search the area. To assist with searching under the water, the crew were provided with specialist underwater cameras by Dstl, who also provided sonar equipment to be used by the other teams.
  Sadly the search remains ongoing

  5th Nov 2020

  5th Nov 2020

• #106: Lydney 30-10-20

  At 0430hrs the Sharpness crew were paged requesting an immediate launch by Milford Haven Coastguard, to assist in the search for a male, believed to be in the Lydney area.
  The crew quickly launched 3 boats, and commenced a search of the area surrounding Lydney Dock.
  At 0530hrs, the police received updated information confirming the person in question was not in the Lydney area, and our crews were stood down.

  30th Oct 2020

  30th Oct 2020

• #105: Bisley nr Stroud 22-10-20

  SARA was called out around 1745, to support Gloucestershire Police with a search for a missing person in the area of Bisley, east of Stroud.
  Land search teams from SARA Beachley and Tewkesbury Stations, along with Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group, were assembling and initial planning was underway when thankfully the missing person was located safe and well.

  22nd Oct 2020

  22nd Oct 2020