Everything we know so far as emergency services rush to River Wear incident
A major rescue operation is underway in Sunderland after a car went into the River Wear.
The incident happened at around 1.30pm, and police have asked the public to stay away from the area.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly before 1.30pm today (Tuesday), we received a report of a car entering the River Wear near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland.
“Emergency services are currently at the scene.
“We would ask members of the public to avoid the area.”
Witnesses have reported a large police presence by the side of the river. Officers have also been joined by the Coastguard and members of the RNLI.
Two orange RNLI boats carrying people with high-vis vests were this afternoon seen circling the water near to the bridge. And at around 2.45pm, an air ambulance took off from the south bank of the river.
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said rescue teams from Sunderland and Seaham had been sent to the scene, and an HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter had been deployed.
Support is also being provided by RNLI lifeboats from Sunderland and Cullercoats, the North East Ambulance Service and Northumbria Police.
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We received a call to 999 at 1.23pm today to reports of an incident involving a car entering the River Wear near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland.
“We sent to the scene an emergency ambulance, a clinical team leader, three officers, air ambulance and the full Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).
“We are working closely with the coastguard and the police. We remain on scene at this time.”
The North East Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team is a specialist unit of highly trained paramedics who can provide medical treatment in environments that would normally be too dangerous for conventional ambulance crews to enter.
They work alongside police and fire crews inside the ‘inner cordon’ or ‘hot zone’ of serious or major incidents, treating and triaging casualties before they can necessarily be brought to a safe area.
A statement has also been released to the media by the fire service.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm that earlier this afternoon, two fire appliances, the TWFRS fire boat and a number of officers were dispatched to an ongoing incident on the River Wear, near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland. Our dedicated teams are assisting blue light colleagues with the ongoing rescue efforts.”
Witnesses reported seeing divers enter the River Wear at around 4.30pm and all emergency services were still at the scene at 4.50pm.