Five lives saved as crews attend 50 emergencies

Five lives saved as crews attend 50 emergencies

9 April 2025

NEW figures have revealed that Newcastle and Portaferry RNLI volunteers saved five lives at sea last year and responded to 50 emergency calls.

The 2024 rescue figures were released by the charity last week and revealed that lifeboats across the 46 stations in the Irish region, launched over 881 times last year. 

Volunteer crews brought 1,007 people to safety, saving 22 lives, with some 234 of launches carried during the hours of darkness.

Newcastle RNLI volunteers — who saved three lives — launched 18 times and assisted 26 people, with eight launches taking place in the dark.

In Portaferry, the volunteer crew saved two lives during 32 launches when they went to the aid of 45 people. Seven of the crew’s launches were in dark.

Across Northern Ireland’s 10 lifeboat stations, volunteers launched launched 206 times, saving 11 lives and assisting 234 people.  Almost 60 launches were carried out in the dark.

And with demand for its lifesaving services at a high, the charity is putting out its own ‘Mayday’ call, and urging the public to get involved with its national fundraising event, the Mayday Mile. 

Participants are challenged to cover a mile a day for the month of May, with every penny raised helping to make sure that the charity’s lifesavers have everything they need to keep people safe this summer and beyond.

People can choose to walk, jog, hop or skip, a mile every day next month to help raise vital funds for RNLI lifesavers, so that they can continue to keep people safe at sea.

The charity says it’s clear from the new figures that demand for its services remains high.

When the alarm is raised, lifesavers ping everything to run to the lifeboat station and with the clearer evenings now here, the volunteers are approaching their busiest time of year

Newcastle RNLI lifeboat operations manager Dave Bowden said: Thousands of people get into danger on and around the water each year and need the RNLI’s  help, but the charity says everything its volunteers do is only possible thanks to the generosity of its supporters,” he said.

To sign up for the Mayday Mile, or to make a donation in support of the RNLI’s lifesavers, visit RNLI.org/supportMayday.