Man rescued from River Wear in Sunderland as rescue teams work together to pull him to safety

A man has been taken to hospital after emergency service teams worked together to pull him from the River Wear.
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The alarm was raised just before 9am today, Saturday, August 8, after the man ended up in the water near to the area around the Queen Alexandra Bridge.

The North East Ambulance Service sent three of its Hazardous Area Response Teams (Hart), a double-crewed ambulance and a specialist paramedic.

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The rescue happened in a stretch of the River Wear near to the Queen Alexandra Bridge. Image copyright Google Maps.The rescue happened in a stretch of the River Wear near to the Queen Alexandra Bridge. Image copyright Google Maps.
The rescue happened in a stretch of the River Wear near to the Queen Alexandra Bridge. Image copyright Google Maps.
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The Sunderland RNLI inshore lifeboat was able to get him on board and met its medics at Sunderland Marina, where the man was then taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital.

The Sunderland Coastguard Rescue Team also helped the rescue, while Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service sent crews from Sunderland Central Fire Station and a team from Newcastle, including its swift water team, with the incident brought to a close at around 9.30am.

A spokesperson for the RNLI volunteers said: “Our crew responded quickly and arrived at the casualty's location near the Queen Alexandra Bridge.

"The person was recovered from the water and taken safely to Sunderland Marina where they were transferred to the care of paramedics.

”Our volunteer crew then recovered the lifeboat to station.

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"This was the sixth emergency callout in five days this week for our volunteer crew.

"As we continue to follow Government guidelines to stay safe during the current pandemic we would like to remind the public of the dangers of open water, especially whilst we enjoy the sunshine.

”Please stay safe and follow advice from the RNLI, UK Coastguard and RNLI Beach Lifeguards.”

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