Child rescued after being blown one mile out to sea in inflatable dinghy off Scottish coast

Parents and bystanders attempted to swim to the boy but he was too far out.

A child had to be rescued after he was blown one mile out to sea in an inflatable dinghy.

Girvan Lifeboat was called to help the young boy shortly before 2.30pm today after reports he had been blown into the water from Croy Shore, Ayrshire.

Other emergency services also assisted with the incident including UK Coastguard Rescue 199, a Lynx and Merlin Helicopter in the area from Royal Navy and Coastguard Rescue teams from Girvan and Ayr.

Lifeboat called out to help boy stranded at sea in an inflatable dinghy

Bystanders and parents initially attempted to swim to reach the inflatable, but were unable to do so and returned to the beach and dialled 999.

A spokesman for Girvan Lifeboat said: “In this instance the inflatable has been used before by the family safely many times and is usually tethered to the shore, but the over exuberant young lad ran and hopped in before it was tethered, by this time it was too late and it was caught by the wind, it only takes seconds and can happen to anyone in the blink of an eye.

“Girvan lifeboat located the small inflatable and casualty approximately one mile offshore and recovered both the child and inflatable to the lifeboat, where the casualty was assessed by our casualty care trained crew.”

The boy was handed over to the Scottish Ambulance Service but fortunately he sustained no serious injuries.

The spokesman added: “This incident could have ended up so much worse, with the potential for multiple casualties. Please heed the advice repeatedly advertised and posted by the RNLI, HM Coastguard and other official bodies, inflatables are toys, they are not intended for the sea or open water, please keep them for the pool in a supervised location.

“It only takes a few moments with a change in tide or gust or change in direction of wind to carry an inflatable far out to sea.

“If you think you see someone in trouble on the coast or at sea dial 999 straight away and ask for the coastguard.

“This is the second callout during the Covid-19 lockdown, with our crew and other emergency services having to attend what was essentially a preventable incident and although restrictions may be easing somewhat, we ask the the travel guidelines are adhered to in relation to travelling to the beach or coast, and if you are near the coast or at sea, please think about your trip or activity. Is it necessary? Could I be putting myself or others at risk?

“During this time of coronavirus although our fundraising activities remain impacted our crews are on call 24/7 ready to respond to the next call for help.”