Author(s): Jay O'Donnell

Military

'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? Chief 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; and, 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.