A SINKING boat with a group of people on board - including a two-year-old child - was rescued off the Ecréhous on Friday night in rough seas.
The seven-metre vessel Santana, which had five adults and the toddler aboard, started taking in water after a window was smashed by a wave in a high swell and poor visibility.
Having used a radio to call for help, a crew member could only say that they could see the houses of the Ecréhous to ‘their left’.
The St Catherine’s lifeboat located the stricken boat at 6.40 pm off the north-west of the Ecréhous after a ten-minute search.
The lifeboat transferred two people on board then guided the Santana through the reef and back to Gorey.
On arrival in the harbour, the St Helier lifeboat, which had also been called, transferred a salvage pump and drained the Santana of water.
None of the passengers was injured in the incident.
Chris McFadyen, of St Catherine’s RNLI, said: ‘It must have been very frightening for those people on board, especially the two-year-old, as water started coming into the boat.’
Article posted on 31st August, 2004 - 12.00am
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