Two bystanders rescued a 27-year-old filmmaker who jumped from Tower Bridge into the River Thames on Sunday as part of a stunt, The Guardian reported.
Tower Bridge by Lukasz Pajor. Shutterstock.
Toby Green and George Pearse, both 23, rescued the filmmaker from southeast London, Josh Burton, after they heard a splash during their chess game next to the Thames, according to The Guardian.
“We looked around and there was a body flailing around in the water, just below Tower Bridge. It was clear that someone had just jumped or fallen off the bridge. The person’s head was sort of underwater a bit and he looked like he couldn’t swim, being hit by the shock of water,” Green said, according to The Guardian. “We immediately chucked off our clothes and jumped in. It looked like he was drowning.” (RELATED: Lifeguard Rips off Prosthetic Leg To Save Man Drowning Trapped In Sinking Car)
Pearson, an experienced open-water swimmer, and Green did not realize Burton was filming a stunt until they realized he was wearing a wetsuit, The Guardian reported.
“It was obviously very, very disrespectful of him,” Green said, according to The Guardian.
A spokesman from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution warned of the possibility of hitting an obstacle, suffering cold-water shock or becoming severely winded, the Guardian reported.
“The river may appear benign, but it is an incredibly dangerous environment and is not the place to try any kind of stunt,” the spokesperson said.
The City of London police were called to the scene on Sunday, The Guardian reported. The police force said the filmmaker’s actions caused emergency services to respond, taking away from other critical matters happening in the city, The Guardian reported.
“If you do purposefully jump into the Thames for reasons of this nature, you may also face enforcement action from the police, so be warned,” police said, according to The Guardian.