Coastguards today praised staff onboard a DFDS ferry who rescued a woman from the North Sea 30 minutes after she toppled overboard.
The 23-year-old female passenger fell from the deck of the Princess Seaways about 20-miles off the coast of Scarborough as it travelled from North Shields to Ijmuiden on Monday evening.
The ferry immediately went into reverse and launched a high speed lifeboat to search for her in the water.
She was spotted after about 30-minutes and plucked from the icy water and returned to the ferry, from where she was airlifted to hospital by a helicopter from RAF Leconfield in Yorkshire.
A spokeswoman for the coastguards praised the ferry staff, saying it was their swift action that saved the woman's life.
By Linsey McNeill
