Dramatic rescue for man trapped on Kew river bank overnight

An injured man has been winched to safety after spending the night stuck on an embankment on the Yarra River as temperatures plunged to 8C in Melbourne.

Rescue crews remove the man from the banks of the Yarra in Melbourne’s east on Wednesday morning. Picture: David Crosling

A high angle rescue operation was undertaken in Melbourne’s east on Wednesday morning after an injured man spent the night stuck on an embankment on the Yarra River.

It is understood the 55-year-old man slipped and fell into shallow waters near Studley Park Rd in Kew on Tuesday night.

Emergency services said the man was frail and had a leg injury, making him unable to climb to safety on his own as temperatures plunged to 8C in Melbourne.

The 55-year-old man slipped and fell into shallow waters near Studley Park Rd in Kew. Picture: David Crosling

A nearby resident raised the alarm after seeing the man in distress on Wednesday morning.

Fire Rescue Victoria central operations commander Mitch Simons said they found the man by the base of the river.

“He was pretty muddy and dirty so he’s had a couple of tumbles,” he said.

“He’s had an attempt to try and get up. (But) because he had a pre existing injury he was struggling in the wet and cold and so forth.”

A nearby resident raised the alarm after seeing the man in distress on Wednesday morning. Picture: David Crosling

Fire crews were able to use ropes to lift the man to safety up about 100m of steep river banks.

“Any roping extrication is a really technical job,” Mr Simons said.

“The high angle rescue crew from Fire Rescue Victoria (are) really well trained in what they do, (they) set up really good safe systems, and were able to get the gentleman out safely.”

The man was taken to St Vincent’s Public Hospital in a stable condition, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman confirmed.