Late-night scramble to pull woman from the Tay

A WOMAN was rescued from the River Tay late last night in a dramatic full-scale emergency operation.

Police, ambulance, both Broughty Ferry lifeboats and the coastguard were involved in the rescue which unfolded near the Tay Road Bridge at 11pm.

The woman, who was in her late 40s, was eventually taken on board the small inshore lifeboat after what the coastguard described as “a bit of a stand-off.” She had been in the water for about 40 minutes.

A spokesman for HM Coastguard said: “She was transferred to the allweather lifeboat and taken to Broughty Ferry lifeboat station, from where a waiting ambulance took her to Ninewells Hospital.”

The woman’s condition was not known at the time of going to press.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police were alerted at 10.49pm that a woman was in difficulty in the water underneath the Tay Road Bridge.

“Police, ambulance and both Broughty Ferry lifeboats were on standby. The woman was in the water for about 40 minutes before she was persuaded to enter the inshore lifeboat.

“She was then transferred to the bigger lifeboat and taken to Broughty Ferry lifeboat station where she was handed over to a waiting ambulance crew.

“The woman’s condition is not known, but it is understood she had been very cold because she had been in the water for some time before she was eventually led to safety.”

A spokesman f or the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 23.41 hours on Tuesday to attend an incident in the River Tay.

“We dispatched one ambulance to the scene and transported a female in her 40s to Ninewells Hospital.”

The incident follows another rescue earlier in the day by police officers.

They went to the aid of a woman who was in the water at Riverside Drive, opposite Tesco, at 2.30pm and pulled her to shore using one of the life rings on the wall.

It is understood she was not injured and did not require hospital treatment following her ordeal. It is not known how she came to be in the water.

Broughty Ferry lifeboat crews were alerted, but the police officers had removed the woman from the water before they reached the scene.

A Police Scotland spokesman confirmed today that the incidents were not connected.