CBS News/ August 17, 2012, 5:14 PM

Prince William helps rescue a teenage swimmer, a report says

The Duke of Cambridge sitting at the controls of a Sea King helicopter on March 31, 2011.

/ AP Photo/ John Stillwell/PA File

(CBS News) Prince William came to the rescue of a teenager who was swimming off the coast of western England Friday, reports say.

The Duke of Cambridge piloted the helicopter that led the search-and-rescue mission, according to the U.K. paper Telegraph.

Pictures: Prince William

William, who is in the Royal Air Force, was on duty when they were called to aid of a 16-year-old girl who was struggling in the surf, trying to find and help her 13-year-old sister.

The RAF crew pulled the older girl aboard and then searched for her younger sister, who they were told was safe on the shore, but had suffered scrapes and swallowed water, reports the Telegraph. Both of the girls were sent to the hospital to be checked out.

Prince William became an RAF search-and-rescue captain at the end of May after serving as a co-pilot.