Dunbar incident: First aid training day turns real for RNLI volunteers after man falls from cliff

It was only meant to be a first aid training day for Dunbar’s RNLI volunteers – but a real-life incident sparked the team into action after a man fell from a cliff.

By Gary Flockhart

Published 8th Jan 2022, 12:22 BST- 1 min read

Dunbar’s RNLI volunteers broke off from a first aid care training course to deal with a real life casualty in challenging circumstances on Friday.

Several crew who were in the middle of a casualty care course at the station were tasked when a 48-year-old man plunged 30ft from the cliff at Winterfield Park just before 4pm on Friday (January 7).

Both boats were launched to assist in the operation, which also included coastguard teams from Dunbar and Eyemouth, police and ambulance crews and the coastguard rescue helicopter.

The crew of the inshore (ILB) lifeboat arrived on scene at 4.10pm and provided emergency care for the casualty until the rescue helicopter arrived.

Meanwhile, the volunteers on the all-weather (ALB) lifeboat sat off shore in case needed.

Once the decision was made to airlift the casualty to hospital for treatment, both boats were stood down by UK coastguard at around 5.30pm.

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