KEY POINTS:
A quick thinking member of the public saved the life of a Greymouth man who slipped into the swirling waters at the mouth of the Grey River early this afternoon.
The 43-year-old man and his wife were walking on rocks at the Blaketown tiphead when the man slipped into the river and was battered by high seas as he clung to slippery rocks.
He was in the water for about 20 minutes before Glen Redmond, from Tasman Tyres, and another member of the public rigged up a rescue device using an inflated tyre tube, which they tied a rope around and lowered down to the man, who by then was tiring quickly.
"He was able to grab hold of it and then we manoeuvred him back towards the ramp," Mr Redmond said.
He said they needed to get him away from the waves as he was getting tired and cold and was struggling to keep his grip.
The inflatable Coastguard boat was then used to get the man out of the water.
Senior Sergeant Tom Firman, of Greymouth police, was on board the vessel and pulled the man, still clinging to the tyre tube, to safety.
The Solid Energy rescue helicopter arrived on the scene later but was not needed.
Mr Redmond and others involved in the rescue said the man was extremely lucky to have survived.
"He is a very, with a capital V, lucky man," Mr Firmin said.
The man was taken to Grey Base Hospital.
He was badly shaken and suffered a number of cuts and abrasions to his body.
- NZPA
