BBC - Saving Lives at Sea (2016) Part 2

Saving Lives at Sea

Every day around the UK, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to try and save complete strangers. Saving Lives at Sea tells the story of the ordinary men and women of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) who, across the country, are ready to launch their boats and race to the rescue within minutes of a cry for help, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whatever the weather. Over 150 years, the volunteers of the RNLI have saved the lives of more than 140,000 people. The winter months are the most treacherous for the people they are called upon to rescue and for the volunteers themselves.

Part 2

The volunteers of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution staff more than 230 stations covering even the most far-flung areas of Britain's coastline, but the busiest station by far is actually miles from the sea, on the River Thames in central London. It was established after the Marchioness pleasure cruiser sank in 1989, claiming the lives of more than 50 people. While it might look benign, the Thames is actually one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the UK. The volunteers are called from their beds in the middle of the night to try to rescue two students who have jumped naked into the river while high on LSD. At the coast in Newquay, the volunteers and coastguard helicopter are scrambled to try and help a 12-year-old boy on a Cub Scout trip who has fallen badly and has suspected spinal damage.

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