Six teenagers rescued from sinking dinghy

Six teenagers have been rescued from a sinking dinghy just off Holyhead, Wales, this morning.

Holyhead Coastguard discovered the three-quarter swamped 14-foot dinghy off Abersoch, some two miles out to sea, at around 5am this morning.

The teenagers were taken to Pwllheli hospital for further treatment, although none were reported to have serious injuries.

The group, without a single lifejacket or flare, or any other piece of life-saving equipment, had apparently been in the boat since about 3am.

Initially two teenagers contacted their parents by mobile phone, asking for help. The pair said that they had been sailing off Llanbedrog, off the LLeyn peninsular in North Wales, when they lost their rudder. The parents relayed that message on to the Coastguard.

Barry Priddis, Holyhead Coastguard Watch Manager said, said that their lack of foresight "beggared belief".

"They were just wearing T-shirts and they were all cold and wet and probably feeling somewhat miserable for themselves," he said.

"This was an exceptionally stupid thing to do and we can only reiterate that hypothermia is a very real killer. If this very small boat had gone down and pitched these youngsters into the sea then there would have been no way for them to alert anyone on the shoreline to their plight and we may well have had a major tragedy this morning."

He added: "We sincerely hope that they have learnt their lesson and will not go back to sea without proper training and equipment."

(gmcg)