HELICOPTER crews from RAF Wattisham were called in to action twice to help coastguards after two men went missing in Kent and a man was taken ill at sea.
HELICOPTER crews from RAF Wattisham were called in to action twice to help coastguards after two men went missing in Kent and a man was taken ill at sea.
The first incident happened at shortly after noon yesterday when Kent Police requested the assistance of Thames Coastguard in searching for two missing men at Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey.
The Rescue Helicopter 125 from RAF Wattisham, Sheppey Coastguard Team, and Sheerness RNLI All Weather Lifeboat and Inshore Lifeboat were all called in to help with the search.
Nothing was found and the search will continue today.
Later yesterday, at 9.44pm Thames Coastguard received a radio call from the cargo vessel Phocine which was en route from London to Ostend reporting that a crew member had been taken seriously ill.
Thames Coastguard was able to connect a hospital doctor to the ship via the radio who advised that the casualty be evacuated to hospital.
RAF helicopter 125 from Wattisham airlifted a 53-year-old Romanian from the ship to Margate hospital for treatment.
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