Britain’s Prince William started 2013 by taking part in a search for a man blown into sea by the gale force winds.
The future king – who is an RAF search-and-rescue pilot – went to work on Monday (31.12.12) at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, when the alarm was raised that a man had been swept into freezing waves in nearby Blackpool.
So a Sea King helicopter, with William on board, was sent out along with RNLI lifeboat crews, a police helicopter and coastguard rescue.
The four-man helicopter crew battled 50 mile per hour winds while lifeboats crashed through five foot waves in the darkness – but they were unable to locate the man.
A second search operation began just after first light yesterday (01.01.13) but despite their efforts failed to locate the man.
Coastguards told the Daily Mirror newspaper it was ”highly unlikely” he has survived and a shoreline search is continuing for his body.
Stuart Atkinson, watch manager at Crosby Coastguard station, said the strong, westerly gale-force winds made the operation difficult.
He said: ”From the information we received, we must unfortunately presume the man went into the water and there is nothing to suggest at this stage that he made it to shore.
”Therefore the sea search has been terminated and we are now in the process of searching the shoreline for a body.”
William’s pregnant wife, Duchess Catherine, was spending New Year with her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton at their home in Buckelbury, Berkshire, unaware of her husband’s part the rescue mission.