An elderly man is in hospital tonight after been pulled to safety from the River Irwell in Manchester city centre.
At around 7pm on Thursday 18 Feburary, police, fire and ambulance crews were called to Bridge Street, near the Lowry Hotel, to reports of a man in difficulty in the water.
Fire crews from Salford and Eccles secured a line to the casualty, winching him onto the towpath for urgent treatment.
It’s not yet known how he came to be in the river.
One report suggested the man had fallen from the Lowry Bridge into the water, but this has not been confirmed by authorities.
One eyewitness said: “He looked to be over 60 at least.
“He was in the water clinging to a tree branch just before the bridge and firefighters were throwing out rope lines to him.
“They recovered him from the bank by stretcher using a winch.”
The man was taken on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, then on to Manchester Royal Infirmary.
