A man was rescued from the River Irwell in Bury this afternoon.
Emergency services raced to the scene in Radcliffe after reports of a 'concern for welfare of a man'. Police, paramedics and firefighters were all involved in the response at the stretch of the river off Pilkington Way, next to the Lock Keeper pub in the town centre.
The air ambulance was seen landing nearby. GMP confirmed a man was taken to hospital A statement read: "At around 1.20pm on Saturday 11 November 2023, officers were called to reports of a concern for welfare of a man on Dale Street, Radcliffe.
"Emergency services attended and located the male, he has been taken to hospital for treatment. Enquiries are ongoing at this stage."
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) say they rescued a man from the River Irwell near Pilkington Way. They added in a statement: "Just before 2pm this afternoon (Saturday 11th November), two fire engines from Bury Central and Whitefield fire station along with the Water Incident Unit from Heywood and Technical Response Unit from Ashton were called to reports of a person in the water near Pilkington Way, Radcliffe.
"Crews arrived quickly at the scene. Firefighters used a technical rescue stretcher, long board and rope to move a man from the water’s edge and worked with colleagues from North West Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance to treat the man at the scene, before he was taken to the hospital.
"Firefighters were in attendance for around one hour.”
End of live coverage
That concludes our live coverage of the incident. We will bring you any further updates on our website
Eyewitness describe response
One man working a shop nearby said:
"We saw all the police and the ambulance and then they pulled somebody out of the water. We don’t know if it was a man or a woman but they pulled them out of the water.”
A woman, who also worked in the shop, added:
We heard it all this afternoon but we didn’t see them go in. We just heard they got them out.”
Emergency services leave the scene
Our reporter at the scene says all emergency services have not left the area
Man rescued from River Irwell
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) say they rescued a man from the River Irwell near Pilkington Way.
A statement issued in the last few minutes reads:
Just before 2pm this afternoon (Saturday 11th November), two fire engines from Bury Central and Whitefield fire station along with the Water Incident Unit from Heywood and Technical Response Unit from Ashton were called to reports of a person in the water near Pilkington Way, Radcliffe.
Crews arrived quickly at the scene. Firefighters used a technical rescue stretcher, long board and rope to move a man from the water’s edge and worked with colleagues from North West Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance to treat the man at the scene, before he was taken to the hospital.
Firefighters were in attendance for around one hour.”
More images
Further images showing the emergency services dealing with the incident earlier
Pictures from the scene
These images taken a little earlier show the scale of the emergency service response
Man taken to hospital after report of 'concern for welfare'
Greater Manchester Police have just issued a statement.
They say:
At around 1.20pm on Saturday 11 November 2023, officers were called to reports of a concern for welfare of a man on Dale Street, Radcliffe.
Emergency services attended and located the male, he has been taken to hospital for treatment.
Enquiries are ongoing at this stage.
