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Woman is rescued from sinking car in Portadown | Woman is rescued from sinking car in Portadown |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Four men have been praised for saving the life of a woman as her car sank in the River Bann in County Armagh. | |
Ryan Cummins was passing by a slipway of the river in Portadown on Friday evening when he and others heard the trapped pensioner screaming for help. | |
They waded into the river and pulled her to safety, as her car became fully submerged. Mr Cummins cannot swim. | |
Firefighter Andy Black said the men "acted extremely bravely" and "undoubtedly saved this lady's life". | Firefighter Andy Black said the men "acted extremely bravely" and "undoubtedly saved this lady's life". |
The woman, who is believed to be in her 70s, received medical treatment at the scene. | |
Mr Cummins, 25, said: "We arrived and there was a car already half submerged in the water." | |
He said he could heard the woman calling for help out of her car window and described it as "horrific". | |
"Myself and a couple of others ran up to the main road to try and get help and no-one would stop," Mr Cummin said. | |
"We ran back down, and at that stage the car was totally submerged, and next minute the woman popped her head up out of the water." | |
He then stripped off and waded into the water to rescue the pensioner. | |
His friend, Glen Martin, and other men linked arms, forming a human chain to the river's edge so the fast-moving current would not sweep them all away. | |
They managed to pull the woman out of the river, just as fire crews and police arrived at the scene. | |
The elderly woman was said to be shocked and distressed by the incident. | |
She was treated by paramedics and was taken from the scene by ambulance for further tests. | |
Mr Cummins said he did not think of himself as a hero. | |
He said he reacted before he thought about what he was doing and claimed anyone else would have done the same in his situation. |