Narrow Escape: See the Moment a Man Was Pulled Out From a River Just 'Seconds from Death' (Video)

 

According to Daily Mail UK report, a man who was just five seconds away from drowning was saved by a lifeboat crew after he was pulled from the River Thames.

 

The Tower RNLI crew spotted the man struggling in the water in the early hours of Thursday morning and dashed to his rescue.

 

They launched and saved the life of the 36-year-old man, who had been pulled downstream by the fast-moving tide towards Blackfriars bridge.

 

After pulling him from the river to safety just after 5am, lifeboat crews classed the rescue as a 'life saved', saying he was just 'five seconds away from drowning'.

 

The man was wearing dark clothes and had dark hair, and this, coupled with the limited light at that early hour, made him hard to spot.

 

He was treated on board the lifeboat for cold and water inhalation and was taken back to the lifeboat station to be handed into the care of London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police's Marine Police Unit.

 

It is not known how he got into the water. 

 

Craig Burn, helm of Tower RNLI lifeboat crew, said: 'We reached the scene and located him in the water with just the top of his head visible.

 

 

 

 

 

The dramatic rescue coincides with today's launch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's 'Respect the Water' campaign, a national drowning prevention initiative aimed at preventing people getting into distress on or near water.

 

Fatality figures released today show 42 people have accidentally lost their lives along the tidal reaches of the River Thames over the past five years, and 40 per cent of these didn't even intend to enter the water.

 

The campaign is targeted at adult men, who account for a staggering 79 per cent of the fatalities over the past five years in the tidal reaches of the River Thames - 57 per cent last year.

 

This is the fourth year the RNLI has run its 'Respect the Water' campaign.

 

One of the key messages the charity is promoting to the public is how to deal with the potentially fatal effects of cold water shock.

 

If someone finds themselves unexpectedly in the water, the RNLI recommends they fight their instincts and try to float until the effects of cold water shock pass and they can catch their breath, before trying to swim to safety or calling for help.

 

Guy Addington, RNLI Community Safety Partner for London, said: 'Through our 'Respect the Water' campaign we want to start a national conversation about water safety.