Man falls 10 feet into dry dock in Warwickshire

Blue Lights at Night (2)

Friday 7th August 2015 – 9.00am – Claire Brown.
A man was at the centre of a difficult rescue operation last night after falling into a dry dock and breaking both ankles in Warwickshire.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to reports of a man who had fallen approximately 10ft into a dry dock on Oxford Canal in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire just after 9.00pm last night (Thursday). An ambulance, a paramedic area support officer and a BASICS doctor were sent to the scene and were joined by fire and police colleagues.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “When the emergency services arrived they were faced with a 59-year-old man who was at the bottom of a dry dock 10ft down lying in about a foot of water.

“Ambulance staff and the medic, upon assessment, found he had sustained nasty fractures to both ankles. They administered pain relief to the man to help stabilise his condition before his legs were placed into vacuum splints and he was fully immobilised.

“Working closely with the fire service the man was then placed onto a carry sheet and carefully lifted up out of the dock using rope rescue techniques.

“Back on dry land, the man was then carried to the awaiting ambulance before he was taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire for further emergency treatment.”

ENDS

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