Knight in shining armor, indeed.
On Thursday, Prince William piloted a RAF Search and Rescue Force helicopter deployed to save a teenage girl drowning off the coast of Wales.
The 16-year-old and her friend had been body-boarding when they were caught in a riptide and dragged out to sea, reports CNN. The friend, 13, was rescued by a surfer, but the elder teen swallowed water and was slipping under the surface when the alert was raised.
The Duke of Cambridge had just landed the Sea King helicopter after the completion of a routine exercise, allowing him and the crew to arrive on scene in only 38 seconds.
"When I got to her, the girl was clearly exhausted and was going under the water for what was the very last time," paramedic Master Aircrew Harry Harrison told the BBC.
"Sometimes it's just a twisted ankle or a broken bone, but this was one rescue where we truly did arrive in the nick of time."
Flight Lt. Wales, as he's known to his crew, has been stationed at the search and rescue base on the Welsh island of Anglesey – where he lives with wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – since 2010. In May, he qualified as search and rescue captain after previously serving as co-pilot.
Prince William Saves Teen In Helicopter Sea Rescue
The Duke of Cambridge
SAC Faye Storer/MoD/Crown/Reuters/Landov
Latest News
07:15PM EDT
Only on People.com
TV Watch
MasterChef's Joe Bastianich Is 'Not Amused' by Breast Milk Mac & Cheese
07:00PM EDT
People Exclusive
TV Watch
This Is the Cutest Guy to Step Out of a Limo in Bachelorette History
On Newsstands Now
- Brad's Devotion: The Inside Story
- Oklahoma Tornado: Heroic Rescues
- Michael Douglas on Catherine's Health
Pick up your copy on newsstands
Click here for instant access to the Digital Magazine
Advertisement
