07/08/2025
Well done to all involved in this rescue.
Bridgetown Police, with the assistance of a local man, rescued a 23-year-old woman in Bridgetown on Tuesday, 4 August 2025.
Around 4.30pm, emergency services received a report of a woman who had entered the Blackwood River. The woman was caught in fast-moving water that was 10 metres deep and was swept approximately 100 metres downstream from the town centre. She managed to grab hold of a partially submerged tree where she remained in a distressed state calling for help.
A 77-year-old local man who witnessed the incident, assisted by grabbing hold of the woman, and he managed to drag her towards the river’s edge. A single-crewed officer from the Bridgetown Police Station, Senior Constable Mike SMITH, arrived on scene soon after, entered the water and kept the woman afloat until backup emergency services, including St John WA and DFES, arrived on scene.
Despite experiencing extreme fatigue, the 77-year-old man further assisted police by guiding emergency services to the hard-to-reach location whilst Senior Constable SMITH kept the woman safe and secure at the river’s edge.
The woman was safely removed from the water and conveyed to Bridgetown Hospital for medical treatment.
