Catch up TV

Series 6 (Shortened Versions): 2. Saving Lives at Sea

Each year the volunteer crews of the RNLI respond to around 9,000 call outs, from paddleboarders swept out to sea to sinking fishing boats, from families caught in rip currents to cargo ships on the rocks. In almost every single rescue every second counts. Saving Lives At Sea tells the story of the ordinary men and women who give up their time to do something extraordinary, giving an insight into the lives of the 6,000 lifeboat crew members who are prepared to put their lives on hold whenever the pager sounds, and whatever the weather. \n\nSaving Lives At Sea brings us some of the RNLI’s most extraordinary recent rescues, filmed with the crews’ own cameras, and taking us straight into the heart of the drama. The series captures life at some of the 238 lifeboat stations across the UK and Ireland, the compelling stories behind the crew members involved, and the heartfelt testimony of the casualties they’ve saved. \n\nWhen they head out on a shout, crew members must often prepare for the worst - dealing with life and loss is part and parcel of the job. For fishermen, the risk of death is six times higher than any job on land, making it the most dangerous occupation in the UK. Just one week after the Newhaven crew were involved in the search for a Brixham beam trawler which went missing off the Sussex coast – with the loss of two lives – they’re called out to reports of another Brixham boat in trouble. On Cornwall’s Perranporth beach, a team of RNLI lifeguards battle to rescue a mother and her son who have been caught in a rip current. In Swanage, the crew respond to multiple 999 calls of a man falling over 100 feet from the top of a local landmark. And on the Thames, the Chiswick and Teddington crews face an unusual challenge under the glare of the world’s media: how to rescue a minke whale that seems to have lost its way.

Source: BBC 2