East Lothian incident: Boy, 11, plunges 15ft from rocks at Dunbar harbour, sparking major rescue mission

An 11-year-old boy plunged 15ft from a set of rocks at an East Lothian harbour, sparking a major rescue operation.

After being alerted that the boy had slipped from a ledge, police, firefighters, paramedics and coastguard teams from Dunbar and North Berwick rushed to the incident near Johnston's Hole in Dunbar at 5.35pm on Sunday (June 25).

The inshore D-class lifeboat (ILB) David Lauder launched at 5.45pm and was quickly on scene. Two volunteer crew went ashore to assist medics and provided a neck brace to help stabilise the casualty. The crew provided a basket stretcher and, with Dunbar Coastguard, helped transfer the casualty to the waiting lifeboat. At 6.15pm, he was brought back round to the harbour and passed to the Scottish Ambulance Service crew.

An 11-year-old boy plunged 15ft from a set of rocks near Johnston’s Hole, at the back of the harbour wall in Dunbar, sparking a major rescue operation. Photo: Dunbar RNLI)

ILB helm Alan Blair said: “Owing to the tricky location of the casualty and the fact that we were dealing with an incoming tide, on the advice of the paramedics on scene, it was decided the safest option was to move the casualty by lifeboat to where he could be better assessed by medics.”

The boy’s condition is not currently known. The Scottish Ambulance Service has been approached for comment.

More to follow.