A man in his 30s has died in hospital having fallen from Magdalen Bridge into Cherwell river yesterday afternoon. It is currently unclear whether he is a university student.
Thames Valley Police said this morning that he had died a “short while” after being taken to hospital following a “fear of welfare incident”.
Police spokesman Jack Abell said: “The man was recovered from the river at about 4.30pm and was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital where he died a short while later. His next of kin have been informed.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
The man was reportedly cycling along the bridge next to the Botanical Gardens when he fell. Police say he spent two hours in the water before being recovered.
According to the Oxford Mail, eyewitnesses heard the man scream as he fell.
A woman who jumped into the river in an attempt to save him was assisted from the water by firefighters, and is said to be fine.
Thames Valley Police Media Team said in a statement to Cherwell that they were called at 2:40pm and three fire engines, four ambulances and up to ten police cars attended the scene.
Rewley Road fire station manager Mr. Molloy told the Oxford Mail:”I arrived at the scene shortly after our fire crews.
“A woman had entered the river to try to rescue the man who had fallen in and she had been assisted from the water.She was very helpful in pinpointing the exact location at which the man had fallen in.
“There was quite a flow on the river with rain in recent days and the man had drifted downstream. The water was about 12 feet deep so it was certainly a challenging exercise.We searched methodically with a number of firefighters in the water trying to find the man.Once we had located him and taken him from the water Paramedics immediately started CPR.”
Additional reporting by Katherine Pye
