Chiswick Lifeboat Rescues Man Near Kew Bridge

RNLI crew find man in river clinging to an oar

Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat have rescued a man who fell into the Thames near Kew Bridge.

The crew was called to a report of a person in the water. On arrival he was spotted clinging onto a rowing oar held by a person on the shore. The lifeboat moved into a position where the crew could take hold of him; he was taken to the stern of the lifeboat and brought aboard. He was very cold and very shaken.

The lifeboat moved to the new pier just upriver of Kew Bridge where ambulance personnel came aboard and took over responsibility for the man's treatment. After a period of warming and calming he was taken ashore, on foot, where he was transferred to an ambulance.

RNLI Helmsman Garry Tiller commented “Whilst others were aiding the casualty when the Lifeboat arrived, they were not able to remove him from the water as he was at the base of a wall and they were at least 2 metres above him. He was very cold and tired having been in the water for around 30 minutes, and was beginning to panic. He could only have held on for a short while longer and would then have been swept away. The only other vessels in the area were single sculling boats and one coaching vessel none of which would have had the stability or capacity to effect the rescue.”

Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland; since starting service in 2002, has attended over 2400 incidents and rescued over 1200 people.

June 3, 2014