Dramatic double rescue as Thames traps family and young man

30 October 2015

Lifeboat crews mounted a dramatic double rescue on Friday after a family and a young man became pinned against the wall of the River Thames amid rapidly rising waters.

A young girl and her parents were submerged nearly to their waists and trapped against the wall of the Thames with no means of escape at about 11.50am.

They were waving frantically when a RNLI boat luckily passed during a training exercise near Millbank Pier.

But as rescuers were delivering them to safety, they received a call that a man in his 20s had also become trapped, after venturing on to the foreshore near Tower Bridge.

The man was clinging to a chain to stay above the rising tide, as a crowd watched from above, before being plucked to safety.

Craig Burn, Tower RNLI lifeboat helmsman in command for both rescues, said the family and the man could have been swept away in a matter of minutes.

He said: “It was clear [the family] were in a dangerous situation… I’m not sure how long [the man] could have held on for but he could have easily been swept away by the fast-flowing current as the water rose around him.”

He added: “We’re having exceptionally low tides at the moment which seems to be encouraging people to climb down to the exposed foreshore. If you are going to do this, please check the tide times beforehand and always be sure you have a means of escape back up to the embankment above.”

To find out more about staying safe in and around the water, visit the RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign pages at www.rnli.org/respectthewater.

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Dramatic double rescue as Thames traps family and young man

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