Families raise £5,000 for lifeboat charity after rescue of Charedi boys trapped by tide

Relatives of the 34 strictly Orthodox boys who were trapped by rising coastal tides in Kent on Monday night have donated £5,000 to the charity which rescued them.

The 13 and 14-year-olds, accompanied by two adults, had to be saved when they got into difficulties near St Margaret’s Bay and Dover Harbour – an area prone to rock fall.

The all-male party from Stamford Hill reported themselves lost to the emergency services, but managed to use their mobile phones as distress beacons once the tide came in. They were brought to safety by three lifeboats and a helicopter. There were no reported injuries in the incident, which rescuers said could have been “far worse”.

The pupils rescued were on a half-term trip organised by the Ahavat Yisreal Community Centre in Stamford Hill.

Now, as an expression of their gratitude, the families of the stranded boys have sent a cheque for £5,000 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which co-ordinated their rescue. The money has been quickly raised since the incident, less than 48 hours ago.

In a letter to Captain Simon Moore, lifeboat operation manager at Dover RNLI, spokesman Shimon Cohen said: “Immediately after the incident, the boys’ parents began fundraising in our community in gratitude for your heroism and they have already raised £5,000.

“The boys will be organising more fundraising events throughout the summer and I look forward to presenting you with additional funds in due course.”

Speaking after the rescue operation, the spokesman said: "We are hugely grateful to the coastguard whose swift actions ensured that everyone was returned to the shore safe and well. A full internal investigation will be held to ascertain the facts and understand the lessons to be learned"

Some of the party called the Shomrim volunteer security group while stranded. Chaim Hochhauser, supervisor at Stamford Hill Shomrim, said: "Several Shomrim volunteers drove down from London to support the group and liaised with parents and families throughout the incident which thankfully ended well, thanks to the great work by RNLI and HM Coastguard."

Earlier today Shomrim tweeted to say that the family had made the donation. In response, the RNLI posted on its social media page: “@Shomrim we were glad to help. We are very grateful for the kind donation.”

According to rescuers, the group had passed nine warning signs before stopping to call for help. Photographs taken at the time show the group dressed in strictly Orthodox attire, including kippot, long black coats and white shirts.

Three RNLI lifeboats were dispatched from the Dover and Walmer RNLI stations on Monday night.

“The group were caught out by a rising tide,” said Dover RNLI Coxswain, Mark Finnis.

“Thankfully the quick and well co-ordinated search and rescue response meant all 36 casualties were rescued and were lucky to escape without serious injuries, but they've had a traumatic experience.”

In an interview with BBC London, Mr Finnis said the episode could have been “a whole lot worse".

"None of the people we took on board our lifeboat were dressed in any attire that you would associate with clambering over rocks," he said.

All 36 were transported back to Dover lifeboat station; 31 people by the all-weather lifeboat and five by the Coastguard helicopter. All were medically assessed, but none required hospital treatment.