Firefighters issue warning after women is rescued from river

Firefighters rescued a women from a fast flowing river in Loughton yesterday (Monday 8 March).

Crew Manager Glenn Jackson, Loughton Fire Station, said:

"The woman was walking her dog along the river when the dog jumped in the water. The woman got in the water to try and reach her dog but got into trouble and couldn't reach the dog or get herself out again.

"Like most of these incidents, the dog was fine and managed to get out of the river relatively quickly, but the women couldn't get herself out as the banks were very steep. The Water was around 5ft deep so came up to her neck and it was quite fast flowing.

"Other dog walkers saw the woman in distress and tried to help her by holding onto her and pull her up the bank, but they were unsuccessful.

"By this time the women and the helpers were absolutely exhausted, so after 30 minutes of trying to help her called 999.

"When we turned up we immediately prepared our Swift Water Rescue equipment and rescued the women. She was freezing cold and exhausted so was taken to hospital.

"We can not stress this message enough - if you see someone in water please call 999 immediately.

"Being in cold water is extremely dangerous especially for this length of time and the outcome could have been very different. Over 700 people drown in the UK every year - that's more deaths than in fires or cycling incidents so we want people to take note of our warning and to take extra care around water and always call 999 immediately. If you see someone in trouble in water, call out to the person to reassure them that help is on the way, encourage them to keep still, as if possible find something that floats for them to hold onto.

"If you have a dog that gets into trouble in water, never put yourself at risk by getting in the water to try and rescue them."