The cruel Thames: the job of pulling bodies from a dark, dangerous river

The river police and the transport police have a pretty traumatic job in London. But the RNLI, also mentioned in the article, is the maritime search and rescue service for the UK. It’s completely funded by charitable donations and most of the crew are unpaid volunteers; anyone can volunteer. Edit, submitted before finished: At many other towns and cities around the UK which don’t have specialist police units like this and where there are also suicide hotspots the job of body recovery falls to these volunteers.

&gt; Once someone is reported to be in the water, invariably they must wait for the body to pop up.<p>Not quite invariably. The river police do rescue people who find themselves in the Thames. A couple of years ago I was walking between Southwark Bridge and Cannon Street Railway Bridge in the early evening when I noticed a group of people pointing towards something bobbing up and down in the middle of the river, in very turbulent conditions. It was someone who had fallen in. The river police arrived less than a minute or so later to rescue him. We walked down to the Bankside riverboat stop where the police dropped him off, conscious, and there was a waiting ambulance. I remember overhearing the police saying he had no idea how he fell in. I’d guess he was very lucky indeed and owed his life to the swift response of the police and whoever reported it.

Water is much trickier than many people realize. I live on the Delaware River, near where Washington made his famous crossing. The river here is very shallow and looks deceptively peaceful.<p>Yet people die on this stretch every year, even experienced kayakers who let their guard down. What generally happens is someone falls out of their kayak &#x2F; tube &#x2F; whatever, and their feet get caught in a snag in the bottom. The river current is enough to force them under water.<p>Most places around here will no longer rent water equipment if the river is running high and fast, yet some foolish people manage to go out and die.<p>But not sure what the answer is for people falling in from the banks or bridges. Comprehensive fencing is expensive and ugly.

I live next to Baltimore and somewhat frequently you hear about a body fished out of the Inner Harbor. Just like in The Wire. Though I’m sure every city on a body of water experiences the same thing.

Prevention is the best policy. Here is a Dutch public service announcement showing some effective solutions to the recurring problem of &quot;micturition syncope&quot;, that makes it necessary to pull bodies (usually men, often tourists) out of the dark dangerous canals of Amsterdam, including the &quot;grachtenplastuit&quot; and the &quot;krachtige straal&quot; techniques.<p>Plassen in de gracht? Doe het doordacht!<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=iMPm3RnRBuk" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=iMPm3RnRBuk</a><p>How many people drown in Amsterdam’s canals?<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dutchamsterdam.nl&#x2F;2152-amsterdam-canals-drownings" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dutchamsterdam.nl&#x2F;2152-amsterdam-canals-drowning...</a>

I was surprised to know that you can swim in the Thames. There are a number of designated swimming spots along the Thames, where it is safer to swim. These spots are usually located in areas with calmer water and less boat traffic.

&gt; This article was amended on 14 February 2024 to remove some details for consistency with editorial guidance.<p>Too gruesome?

Of all the possible swimming spots, a river is the one most fraught with mortal danger!