LONDON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Two young men have been saved on a storm-lashed 100 meter rock face in Devon by a coastguard helicopter crew, it was reported Monday.
The coastguard released a video of the weekend rescue after the two men were seen spotted on the outcrop as it was being hit by ferocious two-meter waves during a storm.
A coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at St Athan was alerted to the incident after a 999 call was made reporting two young men clinging to rocks off Hartland Point which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Bristol Channel.
The Hartland Point coastguard rescue team was unable to reach the pair due to the rough seas, making it impossible for a lifeboat to reach the scene.
Once on scene it took the precision and skill of the helicopter crew which saw the two men rescued in under two minutes.
HM Coastguard helicopter chief pilot Olly Padbury said: "This was a challenging rescue where we only had seconds to spare. As we maneuvered our winchman towards the two casualties on the rock, he was hit a by a large unsighted wave. Recovering quickly he was able to place the strop over the first casualty and he was winched onboard."
"Once he was safely inside we dropped the winch down again and we were able to pull the winchman and the second casualty up in seconds," Padbury said.
Both men were airlifted to safety and despite their ordeal required no medical attention.
Duncan Ley, duty controller for HM coastguard, said: "This incident could so easily have turned into a really tragic one. Thankfully, this was a rescue that ended really well thanks to the coastguard helicopter crew and Hartland Point Coastguard rescue team."
