Lifeboat picks up two penguins

Published on Wednesday 23 July 2008 21:54

BY ANY measure, it was one of the most bizarre "rescue" missions carried out by Scotland's emergency services.

It began with a 999 call from a member of the public reporting that a microlight plane had crashed into the sea off the Buchan coast, but ended with a lifeboat crew picking up two inflatable penguins, which the crew of a rescue helicopter had feared were wreckage from the aircraft.

Victor Sutherland, the coxswain of Fraserburgh lifeboat, remained relatively sanguine yesterday about the flap the novelty balloons had caused. The pensioner who sparked the rescue mission involving the Fraserburgh lifeboat, an inshore lifeboat and an RAF Sea King from Lossiemouth has apologised for his mistake.

But Mr Sutherland said: "There is no ill-feeling about what happened. We had a laugh about it at the time.

"The first balloon had been partially inflated and had only been in the water a short time," he explained. "But the second balloon had obviously been in the water for quite a while. It was all very strange."

Meanwhile, the Coastguard also revealed it had received calls yesterday after two cows were spotted in shallow water in the Dornoch Firth.

An Aberdeen Coastguard spokesman said a rescue team had been stood down after speaking to the cows' owner, a local farmer.

"He says they are just warm because it is a nice day, and they are cooling down," the spokesman said. "Apparently they do that from time to time."