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Man dies after Newton Abbot dog river rescue bid | Man dies after Newton Abbot dog river rescue bid |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man has died after trying to rescue a dog from a fast-flowing river in Devon. | A man has died after trying to rescue a dog from a fast-flowing river in Devon. |
Witnesses saw the 46-year-old man being swept away by the current after he went into the River Lemon, in Newton Abbot, at about 11:15 GMT. The dog managed to get out unharmed. | |
Elsewhere, properties across Devon and Cornwall have been flooded after gale-force winds and persistent rain battered the South West. | |
Dozens of people have also been rescued from vehicles. | |
In Newton Abbot, the man entered the water by the town's Asda store at Bakers Park. He was retrieved downstream near the Brunel Industrial Estate. | |
Devon and Cornwall Police said three officers managed to retrieve him and then tried to resuscitate him until an air ambulance arrived. | |
Train passengers stranded | |
He was flown to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where he died from his injuries. | |
The man's family, who were at the Asda store, were also taken to the hospital, officers added. | |
Police warned people not to enter fast-flowing water "for any reason". | |
At the height of the severe weather, more than 5,000 homes were without power across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. | |
It was down to about 2,000 homes by early afternoon. | |
Overnight, 200 passengers on board a train from London to Plymouth were stranded for eight hours in Taunton because of the weather. | |
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said it received more than 100 calls between 21:00 and 00:00 and crews had been called to flooded properties and people trapped in their vehicles. | |
Tessa Wannell, from the Devon tourist attraction Morwellham Quay, said half the site was under about 3ft (1m) of water. | |
Insp Andrew Hamilton, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the fire service had rescued several people trapped in vehicles on the A39. | |
A number of roads in both counties were closed or blocked because of flood-water or fallen trees. | |
First Great Western tweeted: "Flooding between Exeter St Davids & Taunton means all lines are closed." | |
Services run by South West Trains were affected by almost 30 trees blocking the lines. | |
The Environment Agency has flood warnings and alerts across the South West. |