Man believed to have jumped off Clacton Pier, bosses say

Emergency services were called to Clacton Pier at about 11am on February 28 after concerning reports of a person struggling in the North Sea. 

Thankfully, volunteer lifeboat crew members were able to use their D Class ILB inshore lifeboat, Damar’s Pride, to quickly locate and rescue the man. 

Bosses at Clacton Pier have now said they believe the man had jumped off the pier, which is usually empty during this time of year, more so than in the summer.

 
Nigel Brown, Clacton Pier’s communications manager, said staff at the attraction only had sketchy details of the incident on Wednesday. 

He said: “We believe a man walked onto the pier at some point during the morning and jumped off the structure.

“Our ride deck is not open at this time of the year, except for weekends and school holidays, and therefore there would not have been many people out there. 

“The emergency services will have more information as they attended the incident, and we are waiting to find out more ourselves.” 

Coastguards from the Walton Coastguard Rescue Team supported the mission, helping to coordinate all forces after the alarm was raised at 11.10am. 

First responder volunteers at Clacton’s RNLI station also attended the scene quickly, preventing the man from possibly drowning. 

A spokesman of the RNLI said: “The crew headed out into partially cloudy but smooth sea conditions to the last reported location. The crew were able to locate the casualty quickly. 

“The crew immediately recovered them aboard the lifeboat, carried out basic checks and tried to keep them warm whilst proceeding back to the lifeboat station." 

After being taken to shore, the man was left in the care of paramedics. 

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: "We were called just before 11.15am with reports of a medical emergency on Clacton Pier. 

"One patient, an adult male, was transported to Colchester Hospital for further care."