Lifeboat crews save man from drowning in the Thames in 'rare' rescue

Volunteer dives into water and pulls casualty in 'imminent danger' away from pier

Lifeboat crews launched a dramatic rescue in the heart of London as they pulled a man from the Thames and saved him from drowning.

The RNLI has released footage of volunteers from its Tower station at Waterloo Bridge carrying out what it described as a “rare” mission in the capital on Sunday.

Video shows crews racing to the scene of the incident in Wapping, where they find the man submerged up to his shoulders in the river and clinging to a wooden pier to prevent himself being dragged away.

The man was in “imminent danger of drowning” because of his position inside the pier, the RNLI said, forcing helmsman Steve King to come to his aid by jumping into the water.

Mr King then had to encourage the man, who was suffering from shock, to let go of the post, before navigating him back to safety through the pier with the help of the Met Police's marine unit.

“It’s very rare that we go into the water, it’s a last resort,” Mr King said: “We couldn’t get a boat in there, no one else could get in so we had to go in.

“I didn’t know what was in there and I wasn’t able to touch the bottom.

“This gentleman would not have survived due to his location and clinical state had the lifeboat crew not acted in the swift manner they did.”

The call was one of six responded to by volunteer RNLI crews at Tower on Sunday, while the station has dealt with more than 300 incidents so far in 2018.

The RNLI said it was unclear how the man ended up in the water in the first place.