An attempt to salvage a telephone pole floating in Manukau Harbour nearly went very wrong for a Hillsborough man today.
Emergency services were called shortly after 2.30pm this afternoon to reports of a man falling from a small boat in the harbour and being unable to get back in. The man was not wearing a life jacket.
The Police Eagle helicopter was deployed to find the man struggling in the water and drifting away from the shore in the outgoing tide.
Given the difficulty the man was in the decision was made for Senior Constable Mike Moore to be deployed into the water to fit the struggling man with a rescue tube until a water recovery could be completed.
While this has been going on, a member of the public has also seen the man in difficulty and has launched his own kayak to support the rescue. This kayaker has been able to assist Senior Constable Moore in reassuring the struggling man.
Police dispatched the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to assist in the rescue; they arrived shortly afterwards and winched the man out of the water.
Following the rescue Senior Constable Moore swam to shore at the Manukau Yacht Club with the assistance of a tow from the kayaker.
“The efforts of the kayaker in assisting in this rescue in such poor conditions must be commended. It is often expected that emergency services staff will find themselves in challenging situations such as this but for a member of the public to put themselves at risk in such horrible conditions to help save a stranger is simply outstanding,” says Sergeant Callum Young, Air Support Unit Supervisor.
After being rescued from the water the Hillsborough man was taken to hospital by ambulance staff and treated for hypothermia.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
