Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team was called out today after a distress beacon had been activated in the Workington area.
It prompted a search of the shoreline by the team, who could not find anything. However, they said, until it could be found, it would continue to broadcast.
While the team was searching, it was identified that the piece of lifesaving equipment had not been registered and so there were no contact details to allow them to make contact and confirm the owner’s safety.
The alert – also known as a personal locator beacon – was finally tracked down to the recycling centre on the shore.
The team added: “However, we still needed to locate the item and deactivate it. Working with employees from the recycling centre, after some time we were able to locate and deactivate it.”
While this was a false alarm, Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team said it serves as a reminder for people when it came to distress beacons or other lifesaving alert systems.
- Free registration of these items once purchased, as well as updating information if sold, ensures virtual contact details and information are instantly available to the Coastguard. This information can then be used as soon as the alert is activated, to confirm the situation or likely situation with a next of kin. To register, visit https://www.gov.uk/register-406-beacons
- he importance to follow the disable and disposal instruction prior to disposal, to save any alerts going off.
