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Police rescue man from Inner Harbour water after hours of searching

Victoria police pulled a man alive out of the Inner Harbour hours after they started their search for a person in distress in the water near the Johnson Street Bridge on Wednesday. Police said the man surfaced from the water around 7:20 p.m.
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Victoria police were searching near the Johnson Street Bridge on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, after receiving reports of a person in the water. VICTORIA POLICE DEPARTMENT

Victoria police pulled a man alive out of the Inner Harbour hours after they started their search for a person in distress in the water near the Johnson Street Bridge on Wednesday.

Police said the man surfaced from the water around 7:20 p.m., three hours after they were called to a report of a person in distress in the water on the south side of the bridge. He was brought to a dock by officers.

The man appeared to have non-life-threatening injuries from exposure to the cold and he was taken to hospital, police said.

The search involved some officers looking on land, while one officer went into the water to look underneath nearby docks. The officer who went into the water was treated by paramedics for exposure to the cold after being in the water “for a significant amount of time.”

The Saanich police dive team also searched from the water.

The search continued into the evening with assistance from the Victoria Fire Department, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Coast Guard, until the man was found.