What could have been another tragedy was averted yesterday thanks to the quick response of Silves firefighters, called to the rescue of a blind man who fell into the river Arade near the town’s Municipal Market.
According to Correio da Manhã, firefighters “reacted very rapidly” – managing to pull the man to safety after he had been in the water for only a few minutes.
By this time, however, he had been swept along in the current by around 400 metres.
He himself was fighting the current, and managed to get to the side of the river, where there is thick mud.
Firefighters did the rest, and the man received assistance in an ambulance.
CM says he was uninjured and “refused to be transported to hospital”.
Messages over social media have congratulated the local fire brigade – and highlight the dangers posed by a lack of fencing along the river by Silves municipal market.
“Any child running after a ball could equally fall into the river”, warns one commentator.
Source: Correio da Manhã
