Major rescue operation launched after person ‘falls overboard’ from UK Stena Line ferry – days after boy, seven, and his mother die falling into Baltic Sea on another of the firm’s passenger ships
- Coastguard called in to rescue a person who fell into the water on Loch Ryan
- They were recovered from the water and flown to hospital by helicopter
A major rescue operation has been launched after a person ‘fell overboard’ from a UK Stena Line ferry.
Emergency services responded to reports of a person who fell into the water at 5:30pm today while aboard the Stena Superfast 8 on Loch Ryan, Dumfries and Galloway, in Scotland.
The person was recovered from the water by the ferry’s fast rescue team and were flown to Ayr Hospital by a Coastguard helicopter.
Pictures taken at the scene show the aircraft hovering over the ferry as it remains stationary in Loch Ryan Port.
It comes as a seven-year-old Polish boy and his mother died earlier this week after plunging from a ferry into the Baltic Sea, according to Swedish authorities.
A major rescue operation has been launched after a person ‘fell overboard’ from a UK Stena Line ferry (Pictured: stock image of Stena Line ferry)
A Stena Line spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that a ‘man overboard’ incident occurred this afternoon at approx. 17.30 hrs on the Stena Superfast VIII vessel as the vessel approached its destination of Loch Ryan Port, Cairnryan.
‘Emergency response procedures were initiated, all relevant authorities, including the Coastguard and Police Scotland were informed and a search and rescue operation was launched.’
A Coastguard spokesperson said: ‘HM Coastguard was requested to assist the Stena Superfast 8 ferry this evening after a person fell overboard in Loch Ryan.
‘The person was recovered from the water by the ferry’s fast rescue craft and taken to Ayr Hospital by the Coastguard helicopter. We have no further information at this time.’
A similar incident took place on Tursday when a child plunged 65ft into the Baltic sea from the Stena Spirit ferry.
His mother jumped in after him in an apparent attempt to save her son, early reports suggested, as the ship was midway through its voyage from Sweden to Poland.
Passengers watched as rescue helicopters, including one from a nearby NATO unit, circled over the water for around an hour desperately trying to locate the pair.
The mother was found in the freezing water 59 minutes after the alarm was sounded and her son seven minutes later, according to a Stena Line official, before they were winched by helicopter and rushed to Karlskrona Hospital.
Swedish prosecutors said yesterday that they had initiated a preliminary investigation where the criminal charge is murder, while adding that no suspect had been identified.
