Emotional reunion for coastguard helicopter crew and Regan Green
It was an emotional reunion when the helicopter crew met Regan for the first time after his rescue
鈥業鈥檝e been doing search and rescue for nearly twenty years and Regan was the first fisherman I鈥檝e taken out of the water who was conscious and alive, but he was also the first fisherman I took out of the water wearing a lifejacket.鈥�
These are the powerful words of coastguard winchman 鈥楽pike鈥� Hughes who lifted fisherman Reegan Green out of the water when he was flung into the sea in treacherous conditions. Reegan was wearing a lifejacket which kept him alive for over an hour before the coastguard helicopter rescued him. Reegan and his crewmates have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction his incident has had on fishing communities around the UK.
It was an emotional reunion when HM Coastguard Newquay helicopter crew, Capt Sharky Finn, Capt Jorg 鈥榊ogi鈥� Brunner, winch operator Phil Warrington and winchman Mark 鈥楽pike鈥� Hughes met fisherman Reegan Green for the first time after his dramatic rescue off the Salcombe coast. Coastguard winchman 鈥楽pike鈥� Hughes said: 鈥楾he sea state was pretty big that night - about 20ft with 70 knot winds, so it was quite a horrific night. It鈥檚 the type of night you don鈥檛 want to be going outside in. I saw Reegan looking at me from the water - I could see the whites of his eyes and he could see the whites of mine and that was a good moment. By then I was only a matter of feet away and within about two minutes the rescue was complete. It鈥檚 really, really good to see him here today, having an outcome such as this is absolutely fantastic.鈥�