 At least 23 Chinese cocklers drowned in Morecambe Bay |
Coastguard teams in Lancashire and Cumbria have been honoured for their search and recovery efforts during last year's cockling tragedy. The bodies of 21 Chinese cockle pickers were recovered after they drowned in fast moving tides at Hest Bank in Morecambe Bay in February 2004.
The Walney Island team was awarded the Coastguard Wreck Shield on Thursday.
Teams in Knott End, Bootle, Morecambe Bay, Millon and Arnside have already received similar awards for their work.
'Traumatic time'
So far 21 bodies have been recovered, but police believe a total of 23 Chinese workers died in the tragedy.
The cocklers were caught by rising tides at Hest Bank.
Davy Thompson, Area Operations Manager, Search and Rescue for North West England and North Wales, said the award was to recognise the input of the staff.
"The reason was to acknowledge the efforts and the contribution of the teams during a very traumatic incident," he told BBC News.
"Some of our staff found the incident very traumatic, due to the number of fatalities, and they are conscious themselves that it shouldn't be turned into a celebration."
He said the shield was given to the teams with "a degree of sadness."
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