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| Police and boat crew praised after saving drowning man from Thames | Police and boat crew praised after saving drowning man from Thames |
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| Police officers and the crew of a passing cargo ship have been praised for their fortitude and skill after rescuing a drowning man from the Thames. With the temperature in the water dangerously low, an officer helped save the man’s life by holding his head above the water, before falling in and needing to be rescued herself. | Police officers and the crew of a passing cargo ship have been praised for their fortitude and skill after rescuing a drowning man from the Thames. With the temperature in the water dangerously low, an officer helped save the man’s life by holding his head above the water, before falling in and needing to be rescued herself. |
| Both of them have been discharged from hospital after the incident, which took place in west London in the early hours of Tuesday. | Both of them have been discharged from hospital after the incident, which took place in west London in the early hours of Tuesday. |
| Having spotted the man in the water calling for help, the crew of the 700-tonne Polla Rose manoeuvred into a position to help him, throwing him a life ring and a rope. But they were unable to pull him aboard. | |
| Police officers on the bank boarded the ship. Recognising the seriousness of the situation when the 40-year-old man’s head kept dropping face-down into the water, PC Ky Bukhari ignored warnings to stay on the deck and climbed down the pilot ladder to grab hold of him. | Police officers on the bank boarded the ship. Recognising the seriousness of the situation when the 40-year-old man’s head kept dropping face-down into the water, PC Ky Bukhari ignored warnings to stay on the deck and climbed down the pilot ladder to grab hold of him. |
| She tried to hold him up until a police boat could make it from east London. | She tried to hold him up until a police boat could make it from east London. |
| The water was said to be around 10C, flowing faster than normal and with an exceptionally strong tide, which the Polla Rose was fighting against. The ship began to drift dangerously and PC Nick Bultitude on the police boat had to position himself carefully in order to rescue the man without crushing him against the ship’s hull. | The water was said to be around 10C, flowing faster than normal and with an exceptionally strong tide, which the Polla Rose was fighting against. The ship began to drift dangerously and PC Nick Bultitude on the police boat had to position himself carefully in order to rescue the man without crushing him against the ship’s hull. |
| With the Polla Rose reversing, Bukhari fell into the water between the ship and the police boat and Bultitude’s colleagues had to rescue her from between the two moving hulls. The officers then pulled the man to safety as well. | With the Polla Rose reversing, Bukhari fell into the water between the ship and the police boat and Bultitude’s colleagues had to rescue her from between the two moving hulls. The officers then pulled the man to safety as well. |
| Insp Chris Green, from the Metropolitan police’s marine policing unit, said: “This was a fantastic effort by all the officers involved. Their heroic actions resulted in saving a member of the public’s life. PC Bukhari did not think twice about putting her own life in danger in order to help the man in the water. The officers from the marine policing unit’s quick thinking played a vital role in not only rescuing the casualty, but their own colleague as well.” | Insp Chris Green, from the Metropolitan police’s marine policing unit, said: “This was a fantastic effort by all the officers involved. Their heroic actions resulted in saving a member of the public’s life. PC Bukhari did not think twice about putting her own life in danger in order to help the man in the water. The officers from the marine policing unit’s quick thinking played a vital role in not only rescuing the casualty, but their own colleague as well.” |
| The Polla Rose’s owners, Thames Shipping Ltd, told the London Evening Standard that they commended the crew for their “instinctive reactions”. They added: “This is a testament to their calibre and their commitment to their profession. To manoeuvre this vessel appropriately and conduct an effective rescue is simply brilliant.” | The Polla Rose’s owners, Thames Shipping Ltd, told the London Evening Standard that they commended the crew for their “instinctive reactions”. They added: “This is a testament to their calibre and their commitment to their profession. To manoeuvre this vessel appropriately and conduct an effective rescue is simply brilliant.” |