A maritime rescue team in Britain scrambled to reports of a “person-shaped” object in the sea waters, but the coastguards arrived to find it was merely a dummy commonly used in training exercises.
A crew was sent to the Cove Cafe in Cleveleys, Lancashire, when a witness claimed to have spotted something human-like in the water, according to HM Coastguard Fleetwood.
Upon reaching Cove Cafe, the team became aware from the witness that the object “was suspiciously person-shaped, but clearly not a person,” the Coastguard said on social media.
“Upon closer inspection of a video taken by the informant, we immediately recognised it as the type of dummy used for man overboard drills by maritime organisations and training schools. Since it was only in a couple of feet of surf, the officer in charge took the decision to send a rescuer into the water to perform a tethered rescue to prevent the dummy from causing more concern and confusion as it drifted up the shoreline.
Despite it being merely a dummy, the HM Coastguard Fleetwood thanked the witness, “Many thanks to the first informant who did absolutely the right thing in calling for us. From a distance this made for a very concerning sight in the water.”