Latest news with #rescue
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Man sent worrying email to his son before he was found dead at foot of cliff
Mike, as he was known to his loved ones, was discovered lifeless at the bottom of a cliff along the South West Coast Path near Boscastle A man sent a worrying email to his son moments before taking his own life at a popular British beauty spot, an inquest has heard. Mike Jeffs, 65, had worked as an engineer for car maker Peugeot for several years before retiring to Cornwall. Mike's body was found at the bottom of a cliff along the South West Coast Path near Boscastle hours after a search operation was launched to track him down. An inquest into his death in Truro today, the court was told how Mike had been a very active person, often going surfing, rock climbing, sailing and horse riding. On the evening of his death on November 9, 2024, he had a verbal argument and left his family home - saying he needed to clear his head. He sent an email to his son which asked him to put his affairs in order, and told his wife and son to raise the alarm with Devon and Cornwall Police, reports Cornwall Live. A land search and rescue operation was launched involving a dog unit and the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter scoured the coastline. Mike's body was recovered by volunteers from the Padstow RNLI lifeboat station the next morning. DC Philippa Boyd, from Devon and Cornwall Police, who led the investigation into Mike's death, told the inquest, held in Truro today (July 28): "He wanted his son to take care of his estate and ensure he had all he needed in the advent of his death to attend to his financial affairs." Mike, who was originally from Coventry and had been married for 42 years, had suffered from depression for almost 15 years. There had been communications issues with his colleagues at Peugeot and some friction with family members. DC Boyd said her hypothesis was that Mike had been unhappy and following the family argument that evening, he was troubled and took his own life. Assistant coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Guy Davies said it had been the worrying email to his son about the state of his estate which had prompted the search for Mike. He said there had been no third-party involvement in his death nor any suspicious circumstances. Mr Davies said it was more likely than not that Mike had taken his own life that night and had intended to do so. He concluded in a death by suicide If you're finding things tough and need someone to talk to, the Samaritans are always there. You can call their free helpline at any time on 116 123.
Scottish Sun
13 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Body found in search for missing hiker who vanished on Scots walking route more than two weeks ago
Cops and mountain rescue crews launched an urgent hunt to trace the pensioner TRAGIC DISCOVERY Body found in search for missing hiker who vanished on Scots walking route more than two weeks ago Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A BODY has been found in the search for a missing hiker who vanished on a walking route more than two weeks ago. Richard Dawson was reported missing on Saturday, July 26, after he failed to return from a planned walk of the Five Sisters of Kintail. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Cops and mountain rescue crews launched an urgent hunt to trace Richard Credit: Facebook The 61-year-old had arrived in the Glen Shiel area of the Highlands on Friday, July 11, but failed to show up for his hotel booking. Cops and mountain rescue crews launched an urgent hunt to trace Richard. Police Scotland today confirmed a body has been found in the search for the hiker. His body is yet to be formally identified, but Richard's family has been informed. The grim discovery was made in an area below the ridge of the Five Sisters of Kintail around 4pm yesterday. The body was located and recovered with the assistance of the HM Coastguard helicopter and Kintail Mountain Rescue Team. There are no apparent suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. Richard was described as being 6ft 1ins, of athletic build, with short brown hair, a goatee beard and wearing glasses. He had a dark coloured rucksack and usually wore a baseball cap or a straw hat.
The Independent
14 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
RNLI rescues 19 migrants from English Channel after dinghy capsizes
Dramatic footage released by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) shows volunteers rescuing migrants from the English Channel after their small boat capsized in 2024. The never-before-seen footage, released on Tuesday, depicts the Dover RNLI crew responding to a mayday call when a dinghy with 19 individuals onboard sank. All of the migrants were successfully rescued from the water by the volunteers, who threw flotation devices and helped them onto the lifeboat. The RNLI reported responding to 114 separate crossing incidents in 2024, saving the lives of 58 migrants, including children. Watch the video in full above.
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
RNLI defends small boat rescues amid anti-immigration protests
The UK's largest lifeboat charity has said it will continue to rescue migrants who get into trouble while trying to cross the Channel in small boats, saying its staff work 'without judgement or preference'. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has faced criticism over small boat rescues, but has insisted its job is to 'rescue anyone in trouble at sea'. Data released by the charity showed Channel crossing incidents made up just 1.2 per cent of its total launches in 2024. Recent weeks have seen a string of protests across the UK outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers amid a rise in tensions over immigration. Police have clashed with demonstrators and counter-protesters outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after an asylum seeker was charged with alleged sexual assault. Hundreds of protesters have gathered on five occasions across the last three weeks, wearing T-shirts and waving signs with slogans such as 'save our kids'. The protests have sparked fears of widespread unrest, as seen after the Southport stabbings last summer, and demonstrations have also taken place outside hotels in Leeds, Greater Manchester, and London. But volunteers from the charity have urged people to remember migrants who find themselves in dangerous situations at sea 'genuinely need help'. Dan Sinclair, who volunteers with Walmer RNLI, said as a father, scenes he has seen in the Channel go 'straight through my heart'. ''One thing that I would like people to understand and to realise is that when we are tasked to a small boat somewhere in the Channel, these people genuinely need our help,' he said. 'They are in distress. They're in unseaworthy boats offshore, taking on water in all states and conditions. They could be frozen, their legs could be paralysed, they can't talk, they've been in that position for ages, they could be crushed, families separated. We're doing what we can to try and help save every single person, to keep families united and to keep people alive.' He remembered one particular 'horrible, horrible' situation where a family was stuck on a boat sinking in front of their eyes. 'There was a little girl on that boat, she looked at me straight in the eye and said: 'I love you, thank you,'' he said. 'As a father, that was straight through my heart. When I got home, I knew I had to go speak to my daughter and give her a big cuddle and a big kiss. It just put lots of things into perspective that these people need our help.' The RNLI rescued 1,371 people from incidents involving small boats crossing the channel in 2024, the charity said, making up 3.7 per cent of the total number of people recorded to have crossed the Channel in small boats last year. It comes ahead of the return of Saving Lives at Sea on BBC Two this week. RNLI head of lifeboats Simon Ling said: 'Our volunteer lifeboat crews are normal people doing extraordinary things, often in the most challenging circumstances imaginable and we are extremely proud of their continued commitment to saving lives at sea. 'The crew testimony and rescue footage show the reality of what our volunteer lifeboat crews face when they launch to the aid of people crossing the Channel at the request of HM Coastguard. They are often confronted with highly challenging rescue scenarios, involving large numbers of distressed people in the water. 'We are incredibly proud of our crews who continue to respond selflessly to their pagers, day or night, simply to help others. We know that anyone can drown but no one should and each time our crews are requested to launch by HM Coastguard they do so knowing that someone's father, mother, son or daughter need our help. 'We are a voluntary lifesaving rescue service, and will rescue anyone in trouble at sea, as the RNLI has been doing for more than 200 years, without judgement or preference.' Saving Lives at Sea airs on BBC Two at 8pm on Thursday.
UPI
14 hours ago
- Climate
- UPI
Flooding kills at least 40 in and around Beijing, many still missing
Bystanders inspect a washed-up car in Taishitun, in Miyun, Beijing, on Tuesday, following deadly flooding in and around the Chinese capital. Photo by Andres Martinez Casares/EPA July 29 (UPI) -- At least 40 people were killed in Beijing after the Chinese capital was hit with severe floods following days of heavy rain across the north of the country, authorities said Tuesday. Most of the casualties were in the hilly northern suburb of Miyun, with 80,000 evacuated to safety, 130 surrounding villages without power and many areas cut off as roads became impassable. Two people were killed in Yanqing, also in the city's north. A further eight people were confirmed killed in a landslide in Chengde city, 140 miles northeast of Beijing, after six months of rain fell over the weekend. Four people are unaccounted for. The body of a passenger from a bus that went missing in Shanxi Province, southwest of Beijing, on Sunday was recovered from a river, but authorities have yet to find the bus and 13 other people riding it. With more heavy rainfall forecast for Tuesday evening local time, President Xi Jinping called for an "all-out" effort by search and rescue teams to find the missing. "No effort should be spared to search for and rescue those missing or trapped, to transfer and resettle residents in affected areas, and to reduce casualties to the greatest extent possible," the president said. Anhui and the coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, as well as Shanghai, were under a Level IV emergency response alert due to approaching typhoon Co-May, with its center currently 300 miles southeast of Shanghai in the East China Sea and moving at around 9 m.p.h. Co-May is gathering strength and is expected to bring heavy rain ahead of coming ashore between Zhoushan and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province sometime during Wednesday, with a possible second landfall in Shanghai's Pudong New Area or Fengxian District. Southern China was also hit. Hong Kong was particularly affected by rainfall in excess of 4 inches an hour, forcing schools to close and authorities to issue landslide alerts and shutter parts of the subway system. Conditions in the north and coastal regions contrasted with other areas of the country, which have been placed under heat alerts with temperatures forecast to top 40 degrees Celsius during the next seven-day period.
