Royal Navy helicopter rescues Frenchman off Cornwall coast after catamaran capsizes

The Royal Navy helicopter was already in the area when the mayday call was issued Credit: PA Images

A Frenchman has been rescued by a Royal Navy helicopter and taken to hospital after his catamaran capsized off the coast of Cornwall.

HM Coastguard was alerted to a mayday call off Porthcurno at around 5pm yesterday evening (14 July).

A Sennen RNLI lifeboat responded and a helicopter was put on alert - but a Royal Navy helicopter that was already in the area was the first to arrive.

When it arrived, the crew found one man clinging to the hull of his overturned boat. He was then winched to safety and taken to hospital in Truro. It is believed the Navy helicopter was on a training exercise in the area, though this has not been confirmed.

The coastguard has confirmed that the capsized boat was towed back to Newlyn.

In a statement, the coastguard said:  "At around 5pm an EPIRB went off registered to a French national.

"The location was four nautical miles off Lands End. HM Coastguard coordinated the response, sending Sennen RNLI lifeboat and put our helicopter on alert to go to the location.

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"As a result of a mayday put out, two vessels in the area responded and a capsized vessel was found with one person clinging to the hull. A Royal Navy helicopter in the area winched the man and took him to Treliske hospital.

"One of the vessels then towed the capsized boat back to Newlyn. The coastguard helicopter was stood down."

According to Marine Traffic, the catamaran was called Pir2 and was travelling from Pointe-à-Pitre on the island of Grande-Terre, in Guadeloupe - a French overseas region.