North Wales lifeboat crews involved in major all-night search after distress beacon alert

A major search operation has been carried out involving RNLI lifeboat crews from North Wales after a distress beacon alert was triggered overnight.

Lifesavers from Flint, Rhyl and Llandudno and Hoylake were all involved with lifeboats launching late last night and not returning to base until this morning.

The all-weather lifeboat from Rhyl was first to be launched at 11.41pm with the crew returning at 6.40am this morning and other crews supporting throughout the night.

Extensive searches were carried out in Liverpool Bay, the mouth of the Dee Estuary and the River Dee.

Whilst nothing was found, Chris Gaskin, Area Lifesaving Manager for North Wales paid tribute to their dedication.

He said: “This was a very long and arduous search for many of the RNLI crews, who spent many hours in darkness conducting a thorough search.

“Our crews are all volunteers, many of whom will be returning to their day jobs this morning, so being involved in a long tasking such as this really is testament to their skill and dedication.

“Nothing was found on this occasion and there is no current indication that the lifeboats will launch again at present, but our crews are always ready to respond whenever the call for help comes.”

The RNLI has also released the following images of the operation.