On Sunday 2 August, the Dutch Coastguard alerted the KNRM Sea Rescue Service the Urk station following an explosion on an eight-metre-long sailing boat, around 15 minutes off the coast. Two people were thrown overboard by the blast and the boat caught fire. The column of smoke was visible from a great distance and, alongside the sea rescue team, a KNRM lifeboat from the Enkhuizen unit and the Urk fire brigade with a fireboat were also dispatched. Several ambulances, a rescue helicopter and a Coastguard helicopter were also deployed.
Distress at sea – First responders take sailor on board
Even before the sea rescue team arrived on the scene, alert first-responders had already taken action. The crew of a passing boat had rescued one person from the water. A lifeguard then immediately transferred to that boat to provide first aid to the rescued person. The second person was still in the water and was clinging to another boat belonging to a first-aider until the crew of the KNRM rescue boat Marinus Cornelis was able to take the sailor on board and bring him to the rescue station in Urk. An ambulance and a mobile medical team were already waiting there.
Co-ordinated rescue operation
The lifeboat “Kapiteins Hazewinkel” took the first person rescued from the first-aiders. An emergency doctor was lowered from the coastguard helicopter onto the lifeboat, where he provided additional medical assistance during the high-speed journey to Urk. Both injured people were taken to hospital; no further information is available regarding their condition.
Total loss of the sailing boat
Despite the efforts of the fire brigade, the burning sailing boat could not be saved. The flames completely destroyed the vessel, which then sank. The exact cause of the explosion remains unclear at this stage. An investigation is now underway and will determine whether the detonation led to the fire. The nationality of the crew and the exact type of boat are not yet known.
Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
