Police search river Wey for missing kayaker after Storm Katie hits
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Version 0 of 1. A search is underway for a kayaker who reportedly rescued his young son from the waters of the river Wey before being overcome by the strong currents himself. Officers were called to scene around 1pm on Easter Monday and emergency services have been out in rubber boats scouring the river in Guilford, Surrey, looking for the unidentified man who disappeared after getting into difficulty in the strong currents. “We have a large number of officers out looking for this man alongside a number of fire crews,” said Ch Insp Dave Mason. “The man was spotted in the water by several members of the public and was clearly in difficulty due to the extremely strong current. We are doing everything we can to try and find him.” According to eyewitness accounts, the kayak was being dragged around “very fast” in the river and that it contained a father and a son. They added the boy, believed to be aged about 11 or 12, made it to safety but the man vanished in the water. Witness Niamh Saul wrote on Facebook: “He hasn’t been found...but the small boy was saved. God bless the father saving his son and he got washed away. Heartbreaking, thinking of his family and friends.” Another witness, Kayla White, wrote on social media: “Police divers are going in to search, and fire rescue told me that it was his son [who] was kayaking and got into trouble, and he went in [and] got his son to safety and didn’t get out. “So he put his life at risk to save his kid, and to be honest I would do the same to all my kids.” Siobhan Heaney added: “Just spoke to the men searching. I found [out the] lad got into trouble. His dad went in after him. Got the [boy] out, but [the] man went under.” The Wey kayak club issued a string of warnings on Twitter on Easter Monday that the river had “dangerous conditions” and the Environment Agency said on Sunday evening the river was at risk of flooding. The man’s disappearance came after Storm Katie brought gusts of up to 105mph in parts of Britain on Easter Monday. Heathrow airport was forced to cancel more than 90 flights and divert 20 others to other airports. Southern Electric Power Distribution, which covers central southern England, said about 42,000 customers had lost power, including more than 28,000 in West Sussex. The London fire brigade said it had dealt with more than 110 incidents related to the storm. In Greenwich, south-east London, a road was closed after a crane collapsed due to the strong winds. |