A former Army commando dramatically rescued a sightseer who plunged into the Thames while taking a selfie.
Chris Coghlan was kayaking near Westminster Bridge yesterday afternoon when he heard screams of terror as the man fell into the water.
The 38-year-old paddled to the victim and managed to get him to cling to his boat for support after he had fallen from the bridge while apparently climbing a lamppost to take photos.
Mr Coghlan, who served in the Army for 11 years, told the Standard: “I was just about to go under Westminster Bridge when I heard a bit of a commotion. The screaming was what alerted me.
“I saw a guy falling into the water. He hit the water and went under. I paddled over as quickly as I could and luckily he came back up again.
“I reached over to him and got him to hold onto my boat. A couple of people started throwing some life rings and I managed to get him into a ring.”
Mr Coghlan, who works as a global training delivery manager for a recruitment company, said the Met’s specialist marine policing unit and an RNLI lifeboat crew arrived at the scene within minutes.
Mr Coghlan added of his rescue: “It’s certainly not heroic. I was just there and glad to be able to assist those guys doing it day in, day out.” The victim, who is believed to have suffered two injured arms, was given first aid and taken to hospital.
A Met Police spokesman said: “The Marine Policing Unit and RNLI attended the scene and the man was taken to hospital for treatment. His condition is not thought to be life threatening.”
An RNLI spokesman added: “The lifeboat crew provided casualty care and assisted as part of a multi-agency rescue operation.”
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