Woman "lucky to be alive" after falling into marina (From The Northern Echo)

Two men jumped into the water to help woman who tripped and fell

8:50pm Tuesday 22nd January 2013 in News

TWO men jumped into the water to help rescue a woman who tripped and fell into Hartlepool Marina this evening.

Two passing teenagers heard the woman’s cries for help and alerted Hartlepool Marina office, who in turn contacted HM Coastguard and the emergency services.

HM Coastguard paged Hartlepool RNLI volunteer crew members at 6.49pm and said there was a woman in the water opposite Navigation Point.

A number of crew members were already at the lifeboat station but they attended by road as it was quicker than launching the Inshore lifeboat.

When they arrived on scene three minutes later, a member of the Hartlepool Marina staff had already jumped into the water and gone to the woman’s assistance.

Hartlepool RNLI volunteer crewmember Andy Johnson jumped into the Marina from the quayside and assisted in helping the woman back to the shore.

Mike Craddy, Hartlepool RNLI operations manager said: "The woman, who is in her mid 50’s had been in the water for about 20 minutes.

"She had been walking from her boat going ashore when she tripped on the pontoon and fell into the water.

"She was taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool, by ambulance, suffering from the effects of the cold water.

"The two lads did a great job in getting help fast and but for their prompt actions things might not have turned out as they did."

Mike Puplett, watch manager at Humber Coastguard added: "After over 20 minutes in the water with no lifejacket this woman is extremely lucky to be alive.

"It’s easy to feel that you are relatively safe when your vessel is alongside but as we can see from this incident accidents can and do happen. 

"Particular care needs to be taken when it’s dark and you are on your own. A lifejacket is your lifesaver, particularly with air and water temperatures at only a few degrees.”

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