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Dramatic moment heroic lifeboat crew rescues man ‘five seconds away from drowning’ in River Thames

This is the dramatic moment a lifeboat crew rescued a man who was seconds away from being dragged under the water of the River Thames in central London.

The video footage shows an RNLI boat speed towards the man who is desperately trying to stay afloat in choppy waters near Blackfriars Bridge.

As the crew pulls up alongside him he is almost completely submerged in the water, with only his hand and part of his arm visible above the surface.

Crew members are able to get to him just in time, pulling the fully-clothed man into the boat and rushing him to land for emergency treatment.

As the Tower RNLI lifeboat approached the man he was almost fully submerged in the water
As the Tower RNLI lifeboat approached the man he was almost fully submerged in the water

The Tower RLNI crew said the 36-year-old was just “five seconds from drowning” when the rescue took place at 5.11am on Thursday morning.

The boat had been urgently called out by the UK Coastguard after the crew of a Thames Clipper passenger vessel spotted the man in distress.

He is believed to have already floated with the fast-moving tide through one of the arches of the nearby Blackfriars Bridge.

Crews pulled the man, said to be seconds away from drowning, onto the lifeboat (RNLI)
Crews pulled the man, said to be seconds away from drowning, onto the lifeboat (RNLI)

Craig Burn, helm of Tower RNLI lifeboat crew, said: “As we approached his head went under and all we could see was an arm and hand as he was struggling to stay afloat.

“We were reaching out for him and his head came up again, and my crew grabbed his flailing arm and pulled him aboard the lifeboat.

“The man, a 36-year-old, was wearing dark clothes and had dark hair. This, coupled with the limited light at that early hour, had reduced visibility.

The man was rushed back to land to receive emergency first aid treatment (RNLI)
The man was rushed back to land to receive emergency first aid treatment (RNLI)

“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.”

Mr Burn added: ‘Based on how we found him, he was probably five seconds away from drowning.

“Given his temperature and the water he had ingested, if we hadn’t got him there and then, he’d have gone under.”

A spokeswoman for the RNLI said it was not clear how the man had entered the water.