According to the news the angler was a young man in his 30s who was slipped and fell into the River Crossens in Banks, near Southport, while trying to retrieve some fishing equipment from the water. As per the witnesses the man disappeared after falling into the water shortly before 5pm. Emergency crews were called to the scene, close to Station Road, Banks, after a member of the public raised the alarm.
The authority has informed the divers from the police underwater search unit were called in and rescue spent over three hours trawling the river. At last the body of an adult male was recovered from the water at 8.10pm. According to Liverpool coastguard, the man had been fishing from a wooden platform on the river’s embankment. It is believed he had leaned over to try and retrieve some of his equipment when he lost his balance and fell in.
Witness describe that they heard a helicopter overhead and saw police dogs. Somebody said they saw the man’s sandwiches at one part of the bank, and his fishing gear was farther down. The stretch of water where the tragedy happened has sluice gates at either end and is a popular spot for anglers, who purchase day tickets to fish at the site.At first it was thought that one of the gates would need to be opened to drain the water out to help.
Lancashire Police said yesterday that no formal identification of the man had yet been made, and next of kin were still being traced. Ged Lynch, watch manager at Liverpool Coastguard, said that initial reports said the man was fishing from one of the wooden jetties when he knocked or dropped some of his equipment into the water.
