Man rescued after being swept away in the river
AMAN was rescued from a river after falling in and being swept under a shopping centre.
The 38-year-old was taken to hospital with hypothermia following the dramatic rescue at Merseyway, Stockport town centre, in the early hours of Friday.
He had fallen in the River Mersey at Warren Street and carried for 30m to 40m under Merseyway by the current, coming to rest in the water near the Three Shires pub, on Great Underbank.
Police, ambulance and five fire crews - including two boat rescue units were called shortly after midnight.
Firefighters found their way to the river bank through an underground car park and used a rope to pull the man safely into a boat before he was put in an ambulance.
He was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary with severe hypothermia, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
It is unclear how the man fell into the water. A security guard at Merseyway heard his cries for help and raised the alarm.
A fire service spokesman said: “A security guard heard him shouting for help so he called us.
“It took us a while to find him as we could also hear him but couldn’t see him in the dark.
“It was very difficult to get equipment to the embankment but we had to get him out quick because of the condition he was in. I have never seen someone so hypothermic, he couldn’t bend his arms or legs.
“It was a rope rescue. We managed to pull him into the boat and get him on a stretcher. It was a tricky operation.”
The man fell into the water at Lancashire Bridge, which underwent restoration work in 2015. As part of the project the river was opened up so it could be visible from Merseyway above.