Two teenagers taken to hospital after trying to recover a football from the sea in Rhyl

Two teenagers were taken to hospital on Saturday night after after they went into the sea at Rhyl to rescue a football.

Coastguard Operations Centre alerted Rhyl RNLI to the two people in the water following a number of 999 calls from a party of teenagers on Rhyl beach – near to the harbour entrance

One of the teenagers got into difficulties, and a second man went into the water to help him.

Local coastguard teams and the inshore lifeboat were paged and were on scene within five minutes of the call.

They found the first casualty in a ‘very poor state’ – he was showing signs of being hypothermic, and lapsing in and out of consciousness. The second casualty was conscious and very cold.

“The first man was put on oxygen and given other casualty care, warmed in a blanket, and monitored whilst the ambulance arrived.” A spokesperson for Rhyl RNLI said.

The second teenager was warmed up by RNLI crew members, the two were then transferred to an ambulance and taken to hospital.

Paul Frost, duty coxswain says

“In the first callout, we advise all people near the sea, and even by inland waters, to Respect the Water. Even though the air temperature is warm, the water is still cold at this time of year, and can incapacitate even the strongest swimmer. It is not advisable for anyone to enter the water to retrieve a ball, especially at night.”

As the crew returned home following the rescue pagers alerted them to another callout.

A member of the public had seen a fully-clothed male enter the water between the lifeboat station and the Sky Tower.

Coastguards were alerted, and the inshore lifeboat crew were on standby to launch.

“Investigations by the local coastguard teams found the man had been found by police officers, and had been taken to hospital, so the units were stood down, the crew finishing at about half past midnight.” The RNLI spokesperson said.

[📷 Twitter.com/rhylcoastguard]