Stranded children rescued

Friday 19 May 2023

A pair of missing children were rescued from a rocky islet near Bordeaux yesterday evening, along with two adults who had tried to reach them before also getting cut off by the rising tide.

The situation unfolded at tea time.

A primary school aged boy had been described as missing by Guernsey Police, with around 600 people sharing a post on the Bailiwick Law Enforcement Facebook page asking for any sightings of him to be reported immediately.

A short while after another post was shared, reporting that a young girl - who attended the same primary school - was also missing. It was presumed the boy and girl were together.

The two children had been on Houmet Benes islet, just outside the entrance to Bordeaux Harbour where they had been cut off by the tide.

Pictured: The children, and two adults, were cut off by the tide while at Houmet Benes off the coast at Bordeaux.

Thursday's high tide had been at around 18:40 but the children were left stranded before that time, as the tide was rising around the islet.

While the children were stuck on the rocks, two adults went to their rescue but also became stranded after wading across from Bordeaux.

The Guernsey Coastguard received a call for help at around 18:30 with the St Peter Lifeboat Inshore Lifeboat before dispatched to rescue the four people.

The Lifeboat was launched at 18:40, arriving at the scene seven minutes later.

The two children and two adults were taken back to the shore where they were met at the slipway in Bordeaux Harbour by Guernsey Police, who had been co-ordinating the earlier search for the two missing children.

The emergency was deemed over with the lifeboat back at base in St Peter Port Harbour shortly after 19:05.

A spokesperson for Guernsey Police confirmed that none of the four people had suffered any injuries.