Woman rescued after falling into River Tay

EMERGENCY services staged a dramatic rescue on the Tay today after a woman fell from the road bridge.

The i ncident, shortly after 8.30am, caused the bridge to be closed in both directions as police, the coastguard and an ambulance crew went to her aid.

Officers said the woman was safe and well after she was pulled from the water.

She was passed to an ambulance crew who took her to hospital.

A police van was stationed at the Dundee side of the bridge and a coastguard car was also seen.

Alison Johnson, 58, an optician from Bowbridge Alpaca Farm, said she had seen police attending to people “looking distressed” at the Fife end of the bridge.

She said: “There was police officers at the end of the bridge with people who were looking distressed. The traffic was really built up.

“There was a coastguard boat going around in circles at the bottom of the bridge and the police were up on the bridge.

“It was all quite quick — I parked my car and just walked over the bridge. The whole thing was over quite quickly.”

Another eyewitness, travelling into Dundee via the bridge, said she saw a police officer with a life ring.

She said: “As I was coming across, the barriers started to go down and about a quarter of the way across from the Fife side I saw a police officer and some people I assumed were bridge staff.

“The police officer jumped over the barrier on to the southbound carriageway carrying a life ring, which made me wonder if someone had fallen from the bridge.”

Another witness, who asked not to be named, said he had seen a coastguard boat out on the Tay.

He said: “I came up and the coastguard were out and the police were there too — they weren’t letting anyone on the bridge. Hopefully everything was OK — you think the worst seeing stuff like that.”

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “We received a call this morning from a member of the public involving concern for a woman on the Tay Road Bridge.

“The woman fell from the bridge into the water but has been taken out of the river alive and well by the coastguard.”

A spokeswoman for the coastguard confirmed they had sent multiple crews out on to the water to stage the rescue.

She said: “We dispatched RNLI crews from Broughty Ferry and coastguard rescue teams from Carnoustie and St Andrews.”

The bridge re-opened at 8.50am after the incident came to an end.

Police at the Tay Road Bridge, where a woman was rescued after falling into the water.