Coastguard: Every Second Counts

In the first episode, we follow Senior Investigator Mark as he is alerted to an incident on the River Mersey where a crew member of a tug boat has sadly died. Meanwhile, in Shetland, a Mayday call is picked up from a sinking fishing vessel and on the south coast in Dorset, our Coastguard Rescue Teams and a Coastguard helicopter are sent to an elderly man who finds himself in serious danger after getting stuck in the mud. The fixed wing aircraft spots a fisherman putting himself in danger, much to the dismay of the vessel’s skipper.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's regulatory compliance investigations team looks into an incident on the Isles of Scilly where passengers on a speedboat were lucky to escape with their lives. A rescue helicopter crew from Caernarfon take a call about an eight-year-old child with appendicitis on Snowdon, while their counterparts in Newquay rescues a French yacht in serious trouble in the English Channel

Time is of the essence with a kite surfer pulled out to sea, a woman cut off by the tide and an injured climber stuck on the cliff edge. We will watch with bated breath as teams rush to get to them before disaster strikes, while also being given a view of a rescue from the operations centre as well as on the ground. We will see how various teams liaise with each other and organise complex rescues, with an insight into the sort of decisions they need to make, and quickly. We will also learn more about our Counter Pollution team and their work, as well as more from our Survey and Inspection Team.

Off the coast of Devon, a couple are in serious danger as ferocious waves sweep their yacht onto rocks, causing severe damage to the vessel and putting their lives in jeopardy. In international waters, British sailors have sustained serious injuries while involved in a race across the Atlantic Ocean and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre receives the mayday call

A motor-powered yacht is in serious trouble off the south coast of England and the helicopter from Lydd in Kent is sent to help the two casualties on board the sinking vessel. A tanker is re-inspected by MCA surveyors in Teesport having been in dock for 15 days, while the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Fareham, Hampshire, receives a 999 call from a passer-by who can hear someone in distress under Bournemouth's Boscombe Pier

Episode six will follow the rescue of a five people from an around the UK rowing boat challenge which has gone goes disastrously wrong, as they inch ever closer to an area of treacherous rocks. Over on the West coast of Wales, MCA surveyors are making an unannounced visit to two previously inspected fishing vessels and, at the iconic Seven Sisters cliffs, a family’s sightseeing holiday turns into a fight for survival. Meanwhile on the south coast, we will watch a Coastguard Rescue Team use their skills to help paramedics extract an injured crewman in severe pain from an awkward part of a commercial shipping vessel...