A man in his 40s who fell under one of the largest bridges in Busan was rescued Tuesday morning by the Coast Guard, after his frantic cry for help was heard by a person who happened to be walking by.
Officials said the victim was rescued at approximately 5:11 a.m., about an hour after an initial report of a person in the waters below Namhang Bridge was received around 4:14 a.m. He was treated for hypothermia but had not sustained any other injuries.
The victim’s rescue was made possible by a series of fortunate events, despite the early-morning darkness making it nearly impossible to spot him from the bridge. The person who reported the incident had been crossing the 1.9 kilometer Namhang Bridge before dawn to exercise, when they heard the man’s voice calling for help from more than 30 meters below, near the water’s surface.
Namhang Bridge also crosses over a route frequently used by ships and boats stopping at a nearby port, and officials noted that there was a substantial risk that the victim could have been struck by passing vessels.
Authorities plan to question the victim about how he fell into the water as soon as he has recovered.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
