Prince William flies RAF rescue helicopter to save girl, 16, who got into trouble while helping sister who was swept away on a riptide

Close to where the rescue operation happened: Prince William poses near a Royal Air Force Sea King helicopter at the RAF Valley in Anglesey.

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My Thoughts: Well done Your Majesty.....You make Royalty so simple and part of everyday way of life...

A girl aged 16 was rescued by Prince William after being swept out to sea trying to save her sister.
Rescuers said her sister, aged 13, had been swept away on a riptide while body-boarding and the girl had swam out to help her.
But she got into difficulties as she became exhausted and was close to drowning when she was winched to safety by an RAF rescue helicopter captained by Prince William.

The RAF said it was one of its 'fastest and shortest' operations, taking 38 seconds to arrive at the scene at Silver Bay, Anglesey, north Wales.

Flight Lieutenant Wales, 30, as Prince William is known in the RAF, piloted the Sea King while Master Aircrew Harry Harrison pulled the older sister, believed to be from Herefordshire, out of the water.

The incident happened close to the prince’s RAF Valley airbase.
Vital time was saved because coastguards had called in the RAF immediately after being alerted to the emergency.
The younger girl had been saved by a surfer who took her ashore.

But the 16-year-old was battered by waves among rocks and vanished briefly under the surface when the Sea King arrived overhead.
Two surfers had been waving and pointing to the rocks to draw the attention of the chopper’s crew to the exhausted youngster.
Onlookers had been unable to reach her as she struggled in the water.

When she was winched aboard she was said to be cold, distressed, shocked and having swallowed water.
The crew then collected her younger sister from the beach and flew down the beach to collect what is believed to be their mother.

Prince pictured in a Sea King Helicopter: He only qualified to take command of a Sea King a few months ago.

Duke of Cambridge at the controls of a Sea King helicopter in February as he arrived in the Falklands for a tour of duty as an RAF search and rescue pilot. He is known as Flight Lieutenant Wales in the RAF.

All three were then flown to Gwynedd Hospital at Bangor so the two girls could have a check up.
A rescuer said: 'She had been in serious difficulties and was very lucky.'
Yesterday Barry Priddis, Holyhead coastguard watch manager, praised the professionalism of the RAF helicopter crew.
He said: 'On occasions like this their expertise really comes into play and it led to a successful conclusion.
'The prompt response may well have saved this girl’s life.'
An inshore lifeboat from Trearddur Bay had also been launched but then wasn’t needed.
Sea conditions were described as 'choppy.'

Prince William graduated as a fully operational RAF search and rescue pilot in September 2010, having started his training in January the previous year at RAF Valley.
He only qualified to take command of a Sea King a few months ago.
The helicopter had a short time earlier been called to a child and three adults thought to be in trouble in the sea at Rhosneigr but they managed to reach shore safely.

It had just returned to base when the next distress call was received.
The yellow rescue helicopters based at RAF Valley reached their own milestone on 'Olympic Super Saturday' by completing their 9,000th mission.


Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walk hand in hand from Buckingham Palace the day after their wedding. Kate was reluctant to join the RAF Valley wives' club in Anglesey.


Culled from The Daily Mail UK.

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