Blackpool lifeboat volunteers save 28-year-old woman

by RNLI Life on 4 Sep 2015 Uzma Khan, 28, recalls the day she almost drowned, and how, as captured on video, Blackpool lifeboat volunteers saved her life.

‘It was the evening of 28 June, and I was fasting. I was struggling to pass the time, but the weather was very good so I went for a walk on the sand at Blackpool, near Queen’s Promenade. I walked until I noticed there was no sand in front of me, and then turned around. That’s when I realised I had water all around me.

‘I rang 999, and a couple sitting on the shore did the same. At first I had a lot of space. But then the water started getting nearer. Within five or six minutes, I was in the sea. It was a calm day, not big waves, not much wind. But the tide came in so quickly.

‘After dialling 999 I had stayed on the phone and the Coastguard talked to me. They told me to stay calm. But the water was soon up to my neck – with just my head, my hand and the phone above it.

‘I couldn’t swim, I don’t know how. I said yes to everything the man on the phone said – that I would try and float, and take breaths. I took three breaths, then a fourth one. I thought: 'That is it. This is my time – why? I don’t want to die like this.' Then I started thinking about everyone I knew – my family, my partner.

‘I didn’t hear the lifeboat – I didn’t hear anything at that stage. I was drowning. My hands were up and somebody grabbed them and pulled me into the lifeboat. I remember struggling to breathe, and then a crew member carrying me in their arms onto the shore. I was crying and shouting.

‘They let me out of hospital later that day after I had warmed up. A few days later I went to the lifeboat station to say thank you to the volunteers. That’s when I realised the RNLI is a charity.

‘From now, whatever I do, whether I earn more or less, I want to give something to the RNLI every month.

'I want everyone to know about the dangers of being cut off by the tide. I wouldn’t even want my worst enemy to be in that situation – I felt so helpless.’

Watch video here