A fisherman in his 70s died after falling into the River Severn in Bridgnorth.The elderly man, who has not been identified but who is from the West Midlands area, was pulled from the river downstream near the bypass bridge at about 5.20pm on Tuesday.
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The West Midlands Ambulance Service, West Mercia Police and Shropshire Fire Service crews from Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury, the rescue tender from Wellington and a boat were called to the Riverside Caravan Park, in Kidderminster Road.
They were joined by the County Air Ambulance from Cosford a few minutes later.A police officer used a buoyancy aid to retrieve the man and fire crews used a safety line to help bring him to the side of the river.
After the man was dragged from the river and attempts were made to try and resuscitate him. He was airlifted to the Princess Royal Hospital, in Telford.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the emergency crews, he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.It is believed the man was in the water for some time, but the cause of death is still unknown. The alarm was raised by a 999 call made from the caravan site at 5.15pm.
Spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service, Murray MacGregor, said: “It is believed that the man had been fishing.
“Ambulance staff worked with fire and police to get the man from the river and crews immediately started resuscitation attempts.
“The man was airlifted to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford with resuscitation on-going and medics at the hospital were on standby.
“Sadly, despite all of the efforts it was not possible to save the man and he was confirmed dead shortly after arrival.”
Spokesman for West Mercia Police, Richard Ewels, said the cause of death was not yet known and a post mortem would be carried out to determine how he died.
