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Channel Islands Air Search helped French authorities’ successful search for a windsurfer lost overnight in near gale force winds.
He had gone missing on the north eastern coast of Normandy, near Saint Vaast-la-Hougue.
Late at night, with high winds of force 6-7, Air Search said that the operation presented challenges.
But with good visibility, having been called out shortly before 18:00 they managed to conduct a search of approximately 65 square miles, while coordinating with a French navy helicopter and surface vessels.
After checking the assigned search area, Lions’ Pride flew south along the coast before commencing a further search. A floating object was spotted but it was not possible to identify what it was. The coordinates were passed to French Authorities.
Shortly afterwards, Lions’ Pride returned to Guernsey to refuel, landing at 21:50.
Pictured: The search area the Lions' Pride combed looking for the missing windsurfer (Courtesy of CI Air Search).
At the time of returning to Guernsey, the fate of the windsurfer was unknown, but CI Air Search confirmed to Express that he was found alive this morning still clinging to his board.
On social media, the team wanted to offer their thanks to the search crews, stating “This was a particularly long and bumpy search for the crew, with high winds making it uncomfortable at times, but as ever, we extremely grateful to the crew who are willing to give up their time and fly in all conditions.”
You can find out more about Channel Islands Air Search and the work they do here.
Pictured top: The Lions' Pride, image by Rob Le Page.
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