A man who fell into the sea in Pori’s Pihlava Bay managed to stop himself from drowning by clinging onto a rope until the emergency services arrived.
The man, described as middle-aged, fell into the freezing water as he slipped while trying to board a motor boat on Sunday afternoon. He was not wearing a lifejacket. At the same time, the boat became free of its mooring and floated away from the jetty.
Others on board the boat raised the alarm and threw the man a rope, which he clung onto until the rescue services arrived.
In a dramatic rescue operation, the Pori coastguard, a police patrol, four rescue units and a coastguard helicopter were all called to the scene. The man was suffering from hypothermia on his removal from the water and was taken to hospital.
The coastguard reminded boaters of the importance of wearing a lifejacket and said that extra care must be taken when sailing on cold autumn waters.