Happening at South Wales

A rescuing operation is in action in U.K. South Wales right now. This was first reported in Teletext:

Rescue teams are searching for a 13-year-old boy who was swept out to sea from a pier in South Wales.

Swansea Coastguard said the boy went missing from Porthcawl pier.

Lifeboats were launched from Mumbles and Porthcawl, as well as the Atlantic College inshore lifeboat, and Coastguard teams and a police helicopter are also helping the search.

Some further details according to the Coastguard spokesman is reported by Andy Whelan in The Sun:

A Swansea Coastguard spokesman said: "The boy was close to the rocks at the pier when a freak wave swept him into the water.

"His friends were further down the beach and did not get swept in. They are fine and are being looked after by the police.

"A fisherman saw the boy in the water and threw a lifebuoy after him, but he could not grab it.

"A mayday call was issued and a number of civilian boats responded. The sea was rough."

Let us pray!


Update 08/22/2009:

The prospect of successful rescue seems grim. The dailymail showed the following picture of Porthcawl pier where it happened:

and reports that Coastguard has scaled down search as "A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said survival time in the water at this time of year was estimated to be about three hours."

The SkyNews has this headline this morning: "Hope Fades Foe Boy Swept Into Sea From Pier."

Let us continue to pray!

Well, now the Wales Online has this headline "Search for boy swept off pier called off" on Saturday night local time after a day of searching:

POLICE tonight called off the search for a 13-year-old boy who was swept out to sea at a popular holiday resort.

The youngster was with friends on Friday night when a wave washed him off the breakwater in Porthcawl.

He was last seen at about 6.30pm when Swansea Coastguard received 999 calls – at a time when conditions were said to be moderate to rough, with a higher-than-average high tide.

Despite an overnight search for the boy, who is thought to live locally, coastguards knew the chances of finding him alive were slim, as survival time in the water at this time of year is estimated to be about three hours, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Let's all pray for the young man and his family and friends!