Terrifying moment teens ‘tombstone’ from rocks sparking massive coastguard rescue after plunging into the water
THIS is the terrifying moment teens “tombstone” from rocks and plunge into the water, sparking a massive coastguard rescue.
One youth plummeted into the sea from notorious rocks in Torquay on Saturday afternoon which prompted the emergency services to attend.
And it was later reported that a young man suffered a suspected leg injury after jumping from a jagged cliff.
At 3.30pm on Saturday July 9 several emergency services including HM Coastguard’s Torbay and Berryhead Coastguard Rescue Teams, Torbay RNLI lifeboat, South West Ambulance Service, and HART (Hazardous Area Response Team) were sent to the incident near the Imperial Hotel.
The services helped a young man who was injured.
A video published by DevonLive showed a large group of youngsters standing on the edge of the cliff before dangerously plummeting below.
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The witness who took the video said: “It looked very dangerous. The noise when they hit the water was very loud. And some of them looked very close to the rocks on the way down.”
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: “At approx. 3.30pm today, HM Coastguard’s Torbay and Berryhead Coastguard Rescue Teams, Torbay RNLI lifeboat, South West Ambulance Service, and HART were sent to assist a casualty with a suspected leg injury on the coast of Torquay.
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard Area Commander for South Devon & South-East Cornwall Coastline confirmed on Twitter that the tombstoning teenagers and the injured casualty were linked.
They tweeted: “A young man [was] evacuated from Imperial Ledge following an injury sustained whilst tombstoning this afternoon.
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“The casualty was brought from a less accessible part of the beach by the lifeboat and passed into the care of the ambulance service.”
The Coastguard recently issued a warning labelling tombstoning a potentially deadly activity that “ruins lives” after a man was seriously injured during a Torquay cliff fall in 2019.