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A devoted dog paid the ultimate price when he clung to his injured owner’s side on a beach after being trapped by the oncoming tide.
Dramatic footage shows the rescue effort to save the man and his dog after they were stranded on the rocks at Perranporth Beach, Cornwall.
Crews from St Agnes Coastguard, Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Team, St Agnes RNLI Lifeboat and Rescue Helicopter 924 were dispatched after the man was isolated by the tide on Wednesday afternoon.
Lifeboat crews arrived at the scene just as the victim, believed to have fallen off the coastal path onto rocks, was being lifted into the search and rescue helicopter.
Once the man was airlifted, crew members worked together to try to find his dog.
Dramatic footage shows the man being airlifted to safety after becoming trapped on Perranporth beach, Cornwall. He apparently had fallen off the coastal path.
Crews from St Agnes Coastguard, Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Team, St Agnes RNLI Lifeboat and Rescue Helicopter 924 were sent to rescue the man.
Edge safety officers were assigned to search for the dog on the cliffs and rocks below.
After some time, the dog was sighted, but unfortunately the crew members were unable to rescue it “after making every effort” to do so.
A spokesperson for St Agnes Coastguard said: “The primary duty of St Agnes Coastguard is to save lives and carry out rescues.
‘It is always a challenge when our efforts do not result in the result we are after.
‘We are deeply saddened by the outcome of this particular mission.
“We express our deepest condolences to the person who lost their beloved dog in this incident.”
Witness Bruce Hargrave said the man walking his dog had fallen off the coastal path above Perranporth beach.
He said some tourists passing by Perran Sands Holiday Park heard his cries for help and dialed 999.
After the coastguard helicopter and RNLI coastal lifeboat quickly arrived at the scene, the injured man was loaded onto the helicopter and taken to hospital.
The search for his dog continued.
Hargrave said: “I had been on the cliffs photographing skylarks for much of the afternoon when I heard the helicopter.
Mobile phone footage shows how precarious the man’s position was after being airlifted above the raging tides. It is believed that he fell on the rocks.
“At first I thought it was an exercise, but once I saw a girl crying and talked to her mother, I quickly realized it was a real incident.
‘The tide was rising rapidly and the beach below the cliffs was under water.
‘The man had fallen on the rocks and hurt his leg.
“His dog had stayed by his side.”
«There was a very large sea with quite large waves that came in and crashed against the rocks, but fortunately a family of tourists who were on the coastal path heard their cries for help and called the coast guard.
“Everyone was very excited.
“As I left the scene, coastguard personnel on the cliffs were placing ropes so they could safely descend onto the rocks to continue the search for the man’s dog.”