Emergency declared as youngster needs rescuing

Thursday 27 October 2022

A full emergency response was declared yesterday when a young man got into difficulty while climbing up a cliff face on Guernsey's south coast.

The drama unfolded during the afternoon after he struggled while going up the cliff from Moulin Huet Bay at low tide.

Nearly all of the emergency services were brought in to help out with the incident after the first call for help came at around 14:30.

Guernsey Police were first on the scene with officers trying to locate the young man. The Guernsey Coastguard was called at 14:33 with the volunteer crew of the Cliff Rescue team also called out.

At 16:09 the St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat, the ‘Spirit of Guernsey’ was on its way to Moulin Huet so it was ready to either rescue the casualty from the sea, or to receive him in a co-ordinated mission involving him being taken back down the cliff during a rising tide. 

However, by 16:35 the cliff rescue team had reached the young man by climbing down from the cliff path above. They decided it was best to take him back up that same way to safety.

The lifeboat was needed though, as with the tide rising sharply two police officers and a member of the cliff rescue team needed to be picked up by the inshore lifeboat from a gully within the bay. They were taken back to St Peter Port by the lifeboat crew.

No one was reported to have suffered any injuries during the rescue mission, with the young man reunited with his family above the cliff which he had struggled to climb.

The Cliff Rescue team detailed their role in the emergency situation via their Facebook page.

One of the volunteer members of the crew said that the young man had been grateful, and gracious, during and after the rescue mission.

"He was a very pleasant and polite young man. It was a pleasure to be able to assist him. Having found himself in a difficult situation he did all the right things and remained calm," wrote the anonymous volunteer.