Yahoo News Russian sailors rescued from deserted Welsh island after getting lost in dinghy after drinking trip
Three Russian sailors had to be rescued off the Welsh coast after they went on a drinking trip in a dinghy and got lost.
The tipsy trio ended up on the tiny deserted island of Flat Holm, in the Bristol Channel, home to one lighthouse and few buildings.
They had been drinking in Barry Island, the Welsh resort made famous by the hit TV sitcom Gavin and Stacey.
But their problems began when they tried to get back to ship, a Dutch-registered cargo coaster called Alana Evita, which was anchored two miles off the coast of Minehead, Somerset.
The Russians apparently got lost in fog on the way back to the boat, ending up on Flat Holm.
A major search and rescue operation was launched after the sailors went missing.
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Five lifeboats were launched from Minehead, Burnham-on-Sea, Barry Dock and Penarth together with a Coastguard helicopter to find the sailors.
The incident happened overnight on Wednesday and Thursday.
They went drinking in the evening, left Barry Island at 3.45am but the alarm was raised when the Russians had not returned to their ship by 7am.
‘The three had attempted to make their way back from Barry to Minehead but got lost in foggy conditions in the channel,’ said a RNLI spokeswoman.
‘The sailors were found safe but very cold on Flat Holm Island at around 8:30am by Penarth RNLI volunteers.
‘After being assessed by the RNLI volunteers the Coastguard 187 helicopter landed on the island to further assess the casualties but it was decided they were well enough to return to land by lifeboat.’
