MORE details have emerged after a major operation was launched on Friday when a cockle-picker collapsed and died on a sandbank off the West Kirby coast.
Emergency services were alerted at around 8am and assembled at Dee Lane.
The 59-year-old man had collapsed on the Hoyle Bank, which lies between West Kirby and the Welsh coast.
A coastguard search and rescue helicopter was called from Caernarfon, several Merseyside police vehicles and ambulances were also in attendance.
At around noon on Friday police said they believed they had identified the victim and were in the process of contacting his next of kin.
The name of the deceased has not been disclosed by the authorities.
An RNLI spokesman said: "The cockler was located 400 metres over the bank and the lifeboat crew arrived at the edge of the bank and had to run and manually haul the first-aid equipment over the sandbank.
"They arrived at the casualty two or three minutes later as the helicopter was able to land in close proximity.
"The lifeboat crew estimated that there was approximately 40 minutes of time to assist before the bank would be engulfed by the incoming spring tide.
"Following a medical assessment by the whole group at the scene and the helicopter paramedic, the cockler was sadly declared deceased.
"The helicopter transported the casualty to a waiting ambulance at Dee Lane West Kirby and they were then carried to Wirral University Trust Hospital at 9.11am.
"Three of the four cockle vessels were escorted to the Thurstaston causeway for recovery.
"On the way back to Thurstaston, one of the cockler’s vessels then broke down and required a tow back to shore."
All of the cockler vessels were safely ashore by 9.53am. The lifeboat returned to West Kirby at 10.05am.
A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: "An investigation is underway after officers were called to Dee Lane, West Kirby, this morning following the sudden death of a man.
"Emergency services were called to reports that a man who was cockle-picking had collapsed.
"Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
"The 59-year-old man has been taken to Arrowe Park Hospital where a full post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course to establish the cause of his death.
"A full investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances."
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