A man had to be rescued from the River Tay after attempting to swim from Dundee to Fife in swimming trunks.
Broughty Ferry Lifeboat has warned of the potential dangers of open water swimming after a crew was scrambled on Thursday evening following reports of an individual attempting to make the crossing alone.
Volunteers discovered the troubled swimmer being battered by 30mph gusts halfway across the river between its two bridges at around 6pm. He was taken aboard the inshore lifeboat.
The man, who has not been named, was transferred to the all weather lifeboat, where care was provided as he was transported back to the station. He was then taken to Ninewells Hospital for assessment.
Details of the man’s condition are not currently known but Broughty Ferry Lifeboat described the incident as “highly unusual” and warned would-be swimmers to take appropriate precautions before diving in.
A spokesman said: “A member of the public called it in because they saw him in the water and when the crew arrived, they believed he was in danger.
“In the time I’ve been doing this, I’ve never seen one quite like this. Just to go out and do it on your own, it’s certainly unusual for the area.
“Normally people will let others know what they have planned and have them keep an eye out when they are in the water.
“There were 30mph gusts at the time and the tide was going out. It could have been catastrophic. The discharge from the Tay is one of the strongest in the UK so he was really lucky.”
The Broughty Ferry RNLI crew were called out twice in 90 minutes on Thursday evening, with the team also attending after a woman fell from the Tay Road Bridge.
Crew members received reports about the male swimmer just ten minutes after returning to the station following the earlier call out. The organisation said things can go wrong “at any time” when dealing with the open water.
Members of the public have been warned to never swim alone, check the weather and tide times before departing, and to take appropriate equipment. Residents are also advised to swim parallel to the shore and never on alcohol or drugs.
The Broughty Ferry crew were in action again at 3am on Friday when they were called out over concerns for a person on the banks of the Tay at Riverside Drive.
It turned out to be a false alarm and the crew returned to base.
