A MAN was rescued from drowning in the Thames when police spotted his rucksack in the water. A patrol boat from river police HQ at Wapping reached the man just three minutes after he was spotted in the water in the Pool of London by a pleasure boat crew

By Mike Brooke

A MAN was rescued from drowning in the Thames when police spotted his rucksack in the water.

A patrol boat from river police HQ at Wapping reached the man just three minutes after he was spotted in the water in the Pool of London by the crew of the Silver Bonito pleasure boat on Sunday afternoon.

The 42-year-old had plunged 30ft into the water from London Bridge.

“It was his rucksack floating on the surface that helped saved him,” London coastguard watch manager Anthony Mayhew told the East London Advertiser.

“The police patrol spotted the rucksack and reached him in less than three minutes.

FLOATING

“The rucksack somehow kept him afloat—he was face down and difficult to spot.”

A police medical officer on board the patrol boat and another on the Tower lifeboat managed to resuscitate him after several minutes.

The coastguard watch-manager added: “The swift response of the police and lifeboat crew and prompt action by the passenger boat saved this man’s life.”

The man was brought ashore at Tower Pier where a waiting ambulance took him to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.