A volunteer-run mountain rescue charity. 57 incidents featured here.
A climber fell at Wintour's Leap near Chepstow on 9 August 2026. The Severn Area Rescue Association and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service coordinated a multi-agency rescue, initially planning a rope rescue but switching to a boat extraction due to tidal conditions. The casualty was evacuated by lifeboat and transferred to an ambulance at Beachley.
Outcome: casualty evacuated by lifeboat and transferred to ambulance
A jet skier became stranded on the River Wye and was rescued by Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) volunteers. The rescue occurred during an official mayoral visit to SARA's headquarters at Beachley, where the Mayor and local councillors witnessed the incident and subsequent response.
Outcome: jet skier and craft towed back to base
A jet skier stranded on the River Wye was rescued by Severn Area Rescue Association volunteers. The incident occurred during a mayoral visit to SARA's Beachley headquarters, allowing visiting council officials to observe the team's response procedures in real time.
Outcome: jet skier and craft towed back to base
A jet ski drifted onto Hen and Chickens rocks near Beachley on Saturday 25 July due to engine failure. The rider was safely assisted to shore by SARA lifeboat and Coastguard crews, and the jet ski was recovered by tow once the tide had risen sufficiently.
Outcome: rider safely assisted to shore; jet ski recovered by lifeboat tow
A 55-year-old woman missing from Droitwich was located in Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales, approximately 60 miles from her home. Members of the Severn Area Rescue Association found her vehicle in a car park and located the woman, who was then attended by a remote rescue medical technician until an ambulance arrived.
Outcome: woman located and handed over to ambulance crew
Lifeboat crews responded to two incidents near Chepstow on Sunday afternoon. The first involved assisting a yacht that had experienced engine failure in the River Wye, and the second required assistance with a vulnerable person at Chepstow Castle.
Outcome: All persons involved were reported safe.
Outcome: The badger was safely recovered and later released into the wild.
A callout was initially requested by WILSAR regarding a missing person in Chippenham. The incident was downgraded to a standby as local resources were deemed sufficient, but it ultimately became a body recovery operation.
Outcome: Body recovered
A 77-year-old man reported missing from the Forest of Dean earlier in March was found deceased on 29 March following searches by the Severn Area Rescue Association. Formal identification was pending and his death was not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body recovered
A major search operation was underway in the Forest of Dean for Graham, a man missing for nearly a week. Last seen on 3 March 2026 near Coleford, extensive searches were conducted by Gloucestershire Police and rescue associations across the Ellwood, Milkwall and Sling areas. Police appealed for public assistance through reports of sightings and submission of CCTV and dashcam footage.
An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was activated in the Bristol Channel, triggering a multi-agency response involving the Coastguard, RNLI, and a rescue helicopter. The device was subsequently located in Portishead Marina with no people in danger and all crews were stood down.
Outcome: device located, no casualties, all crews released
Rescue services were called out after a spaniel was found down a cliff face in the Forest of Dean. A joint operation involving multiple teams successfully retrieved the dog using specialized equipment. The owner confirmed that the dog was safe and unharmed following the rescue.
Outcome: Dog safely rescued
A spaniel named Bracken fell off a cliff while exploring his family's garden in Sedbury, Forest of Dean on 17 January. A multi-agency rescue team comprising 25 personnel from SARA, HM Coastguard Chepstow, and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service successfully retrieved the dog using a harness and bag within 30 minutes. The dog was reported to be uninjured and in good spirits following the rescue.
Outcome: dog safely recovered uninjured
A person entered the River Avon near Mythe Road in Tewkesbury on Friday evening 19 December. Multiple emergency services including police, fire and rescue, and the National Police Air Service conducted searches of the fast-flowing river, which was at heightened levels due to heavy rain. The person had not been located as of the search continuation on 21 December.
Outcome: ongoing search, person not located as of 21 December
Search and Rescue teams were deployed to search a river in Tewkesbury, supporting local constabulary. After several days of searching, teams successfully located and recovered the body of a young man who had entered the River Avon on Friday, 19 December.
Outcome: Body recovered
A man entered the River Severn near Gloucester Docks on 20 November and did not resurface. Rescue teams including SARA Sharpness crew, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, and police conducted a search, and a body was recovered from the river near Hempsted. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body recovered
Storm Claudia caused severe flooding in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, prompting a major incident declaration by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Multiple rescue operations were conducted, including the evacuation of a family from a submerged vehicle, with approximately 85 flooding incidents and evacuations handled by emergency services and partner organisations.
Outcome: multiple people rescued and evacuated; one vehicle occupants rescued from roof of submerged Range Rover
A search was initiated for a 23-year-old man from Cambridgeshire who went missing after travelling to Puzzlewood in Gloucestershire on 11 September. Emergency services and Severn Area Rescue Association located a body at the site on 12 September. The circumstances of death were not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body located; death not suspicious
A 23-year-old man who was missing was found in water near Buscot. The search concluded with the recovery of a body.
Outcome: body recovered from water
A young man's body was recovered following an incident in the river at Bradford on Avon. The recovery operation involved emergency services responding to the river location.
Outcome: body recovered
Two people were rescued after their catamaran capsized near the M48 Severn Bridge on 15 June. A nearby vessel answered a mayday call and recovered both individuals from the water. Emergency services attended and escorted the re-righted vessel to safety; no medical assistance was required.
Outcome: both casualties recovered safely by nearby vessel, no medical assistance required
A 56-year-old woman from Gloucestershire was reported missing on 10 May 2025. Multiple local emergency services, including the Severn Area Rescue Association and Gloucestershire Constabulary, conducted a search operation that was initially unsuccessful. The woman was located safely on the afternoon of 11 May 2025.
Outcome: found safe
The association attended an old ferry slip near Aust last week following reports of someone being stuck in the mud. Fortunately, the individual was able to self-recover while lifeboat services were being launched.
Outcome: Self-recovered
Emergency services were called to the River Usk in Newport city centre on 4 February after a 999 report that a person had entered the water. An extensive search involving police, fire, rescue teams and a helicopter found no one in the river. The call was believed to have been made in good faith rather than as a hoax.
Outcome: no person located, search stood down
A man missing since 21 January was found deceased in water off Corporation Road, Newport on 3 February. The recovery was assisted by the Severn Area Rescue Association. The death is not being treated as suspicious by police.
Outcome: body recovered from water
A man died after falling from Sedbury Bridge in Chepstow, South Wales on 12 December. Emergency services including police, ambulance, fire and rescue, and the Severn Area Rescue Association responded to the incident. The casualty was recovered from the water and pronounced deceased by paramedics.
Outcome: man pronounced deceased
A body was recovered during a search operation for a man reported missing in the River Wye. The search involved multi-agency response in the river area.
Outcome: body recovered
A 20-year-old man fell into the River Wye near Tutshill on the evening of 20 May, prompting a major search involving emergency services and rescue associations. A body was discovered in the river on 26 May and recovered by the Coastguard.
Outcome: body found and recovered
An abandoned car was discovered in the River Avon near Offenham, Evesham, prompting a multi-agency emergency response. Crews from fire and rescue services, ambulance HART, police, and water rescue teams conducted an extensive search of the vehicle and surrounding area but found no casualties.
Outcome: no casualties found; incident resolved
A kayaker capsized in choppy conditions in the Bristol Channel near Denny Island on 14 August 2023. The Severn Area Rescue Association lifeboat, which had spoken to the kayaker earlier that morning, returned to the area after noticing he was missing and located him clinging to his overturned kayak. He was rescued and taken to Portishead Lifeboat Station.
Outcome: casualty rescued and transferred to Portishead
A man in his 50s was found deceased in the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal near Parkend Bridge during a search operation by Severn Area Rescue Association and emergency services. The death is not being treated as suspicious, and the man's next of kin has been notified.
Outcome: body recovered from water; death confirmed non-suspicious
A teenager's body was recovered from a river in Lechlade following a major search operation. The incident resulted in a fatality.
Outcome: body recovered from river
A body was recovered from the River Severn near Hock Cliff, Gloucestershire, on 1 April 2023. Rescue crews from the Severn Area Rescue Association worked alongside emergency services to recover the deceased from the shoreline.
Outcome: body recovered and returned to shore
Police and rescue teams searched the River Severn for Emily Bomken, a 39-year-old woman reported missing on 12 November 2022. Officers expressed concern for her welfare and appealed for public information to help locate her.
A man accidentally fell into the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal at Splatt Bridge on Sunday afternoon. Emergency services, including police and volunteers from the Severn Area Rescue Association, launched a major search which was ongoing at the time of reporting.
A body was recovered from the water near Beachley during the search for a 56-year-old woman from Lydney whose car was found near the M48 Severn bridge. Police and the coastguard coordinated the search with assistance from Severn Area Rescue Association. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body recovered from water
A woman in her 50s was found dead in the Gloucester-Sharpness canal near Frampton-on-Severn on 17 July following a search after she was reported missing. Police, fire and rescue, and the Severn Area Rescue Association were involved in the recovery operation. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body recovered from water
A 25-year-old man reported missing from Gloucester on 24 April was found deceased in the River Severn near Gloucester Docks the following morning. A multi-agency search involving police, Severn Area Rescue Association, fire and rescue, and the National Police Air Service was conducted overnight. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body recovered from river
A resident in Gloucester was evacuated from their flooded home on Sandhurst Lane by the SARA Sharpness lifeboat team during flooding caused by the River Severn. The rescue was completed at 7:36 am on 26 December, with the resident safely removed from the property as water from the swollen river inundated the residential area.
Outcome: resident evacuated by lifeboat
A lifeboat volunteer and training manager contracted giardiasis, a parasitic infection linked to sewage, after spending two hours in the River Severn during a training exercise in October 2020. He spent over three weeks unwell, including multiple hospital admissions, and investigators determined an 80% probability the infection came from human sewage contamination in the river.
Outcome: casualty hospitalised for three-and-a-half weeks, recovered
A search and rescue operation was launched on 15 May near South Cerney in the Cotswolds after a man was reported missing. The body was recovered from a lake at Cotswold Water Park in the early hours of 16 May. The death was not being treated as suspicious.
Outcome: body recovered from lake
A 55-year-old woman from Cinderford in the Forest of Dean went missing on 23 April 2020 after last being seen in the Soudley area. Gloucestershire Police, the National Police Air Service helicopter, and Severn Area Rescue Association conducted a search operation. The woman was subsequently found.
Outcome: found
A 62-year-old woman from the Midlands became stranded overnight after driving into floods near Bigsweir Bridge. Unable to call for help due to no phone service, she climbed onto the roof of her car where she spent the night. She was rescued the following morning by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Severn Area Rescue Association using a boat and inflatable sled, and was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Outcome: rescued by boat and inflatable sled, taken to hospital as a precaution
The Severn Area Rescue Association rescued a professional footballer and a 91-year-old woman during Storm Dennis flooding in Worcestershire. The footballer was retrieved from the roof of his car in floodwater, whilst the elderly woman was evacuated from her cottage which had become dangerously flooded. Both rescues were completed safely.
Outcome: both casualties rescued safely; footballer made donation to SARA
A 71-year-old woman missing for four days was found alive in undergrowth near Bream Rugby Club in Gloucestershire after an extensive search involving rescue teams from Wales and the Midlands. Despite four days of severe weather including torrential rain and thunderstorms, she was discovered conscious and was attended to by casualty carers before being transferred to NHS care.
Outcome: located alive and conscious, attended by casualty carers and transferred to NHS ambulance
Emergency services were called to reports of a man entering the Severn Estuary on 23 July. Despite search efforts involving police, HM Coastguard, a helicopter and lifeboats, the man was not located and has been declared a missing person.
Outcome: search called off, man declared missing
A woman who had been threatening self-harm entered the River Severn near Over in Gloucestershire. A major multi-agency rescue operation involving police, fire, ambulance, the SARA lifeboat, and a helicopter successfully rescued her from the water.
Outcome: casualty rescued and transferred to specialist ambulance for medical assistance
A 17-year-old got into difficulties while swimming at the Blue Pool in a disused quarry at Bishops Itchington on 26 July and died. His body was recovered the following day. The pool, located within a former limestone quarry, had warning signs in place but swimming had continued despite efforts by the site operators to prevent it.
Outcome: fatality
Two ambulances became stranded in heavy snow on Foxcote Lane near Stourbridge on 4 March 2018. Severn Area Rescue Association volunteers assisted in freeing both vehicles, which were blocking access to patients requiring emergency care. All patients were eventually reached and provided medical care.
Outcome: both ambulances recovered and towed to main road; all patients reached and treated
Emergency services including lifeboats and a helicopter were deployed to the River Severn near Arlingham and Frampton-on-Severn in search of a missing person. Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) land search teams and a lifeboat from SARA Sharpness were called to assist police coastguard in the search operation.
The body of a missing woman was discovered by the Severn Area Rescue Association in woodland near Woolaston Common, following a police search operation. The woman had been missing since late Thursday and formal identification was pending at the time of reporting.
Outcome: body found
An inflatable boat with engine troubles drifted out with the tide under the Old Severn Bridge in rough conditions. The Severn Area Rescue Association launched their lifeboat, located the vessel, and towed it back to safety, returning with the occupant uninjured.
Outcome: boat and occupant towed to safety
SARA crews conducted multiple water rescues in the Chepstow area over the weekend. Operations included assisting a man adrift in a rowing boat, bailing out a sinking vessel, and helping nine people in difficulty on rocks in the River Severn as the tide came in.
Outcome: man from rowing boat rescued and taken aboard lifeboat; sinking boat bailed out and secured; nine people assisted on rocks; missing vessel located and returned
A man fell or jumped from the old Severn Bridge and was found in the river. He was recovered by rescue services and transferred to hospital, where he subsequently died.
Outcome: casualty died
A 20-year-old man was rescued from the River Usk in Newport city centre after jumping into the water early in the morning. Emergency services, including firefighters from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, responded to a call from the man's friends and located him swimming in circles near the wave sculpture at Kingsway. He was pulled to safety using a line and inflatable boat, then taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Outcome: rescued by fire service and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
A 10-year-old boy from Gloucestershire drowned in the River Severn on 27 July 2008 after being swept away while playing on mud flats near Newnham. His body was recovered approximately 13 hours later. A coroner recorded the death as accidental and noted the dangers of the river's soft mud, tides, and strong currents.
Outcome: fatal
A 20-foot private party boat capsized at Stourport-on-Severn marina on the River Severn on Saturday evening, requiring the rescue of fourteen passengers. A woman in her 40s became trapped under the waterline and was recovered unconscious by emergency services and members of the public; she was taken to hospital but did not regain consciousness. Three people were arrested in connection with the death and released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Outcome: one fatality; fourteen survivors rescued and treated for minor injuries and shock