- Incident
- 113 in 2025
- Type
- Full Callout — Other
- Location
- Wast Water
- Weather
- Dry, Sunny, Warm
- Other Agencies
- Cumbria Fire and Rescue, Cumbria Police, North West Ambulance Service
- Tagged
- Boat, Paddle Board, Screes
Last Bank Holiday Monday, we received a call from
Cumbria Police about people potentially lost in the water at Wast Water requiring assistance. They had received multiple calls reporting similar things about paddle boarders in distress. Further information suggested that one person was unaccounted for.
Multiple emergency services were activated immediately, including ourselves. WMRT team members close by responded and were on scene shortly after a police officer arrived.
Initially it appeared that all people were accounted for, but two had not returned to their family and information was anecdotal, so their safety was not assumed.
As more team members and emergency services arrived, a MRT party was tasked with a rapid search along the shoreline to quickly relieve the high anxiety being experienced by the family. They were thankfully stood down when the police officer was flagged down as he drove along the road, to alert him to the two missing people resting on the shore. They were safe and well and were returned to their family. Three people in total were checked over by the awaiting ambulance crew and discharged at the scene.
What remained was a reassurance check of the lake shoreline with our boat and to recover three missing paddle boards (thus avoiding further false alarms later). No other persons were found in need of help and the paddleboards were returned to the very grateful and humble family group.
After the urgent response had been dealt with, it was possible to get a better understanding of what had occurred. Three paddle boarders had got into trouble when gusty winds blew them quickly away from the shore. They then all fell from their boards in attempt to recover themselves and each other.
None of the paddle boarders had leashes to keep them attached in this event, so they were quickly separated once they fell in. One of the paddle boarders did not have a buoyancy aid and was rescued by other boarders. The two other young people did have buoyancy aids and were able to swim a significant distance to safety.
We were hugely grateful that this was a good outcome, with the family group very aware and humbled by the near misses that were very obvious to them.
Thank you to all that helped in this incident.
Incident started at 15:40 and ended at 20:17 making 4.6 hrs in total. There were 16 Wasdale team members involved and the incident occured at NY 153054. Total rescuer hours: 74
