Humphrey Price

P.O. Aircrewman Jay O'Donnell QGM

Jay O'Donnell

�The sky had gone: in its place was a wall of water, white horses on the top, readying itself to fall on me.� What kind of man throws himself out of a helicopter in a storm? Or dangles by a thread over mountainous waves? Or strikes a panicking sailor to save his life? Aircrewman Jay O�Donnell, a former Royal Navy Search and Rescue diver, has seen � and lived � it all. Scrambled at a moment�s notice, in all weathers � but usually the worst � he and the crew of Sea King Rescue 194 have braved some of the most frightening storms ever to lash the UK. In this gripping account, O�Donnell describes the mix of bravery and terror that comes with every call. He explains the rigours of training; tells of grisly tasks like fishing bodies out the sea; conveys the horror of being winched 80 feet in a storm while clutching a squirming baby, or being dragged through freezing waters on a loose line. Culminating in the astonishing, hair-raising rescue of 26 crew from the MSC Napoli disaster in Cornwall, January 2007 � where O�Donnell was decorated for his courage and refusal to give up in appalling conditions � Rescue 194 is an unforgettable tribute to the Royal Navy�s search and rescue crews.

P.O. Aircrewman Jay O'Donnell QGM

About

Books

Join the club