A 79-year-old farmer in Motril was rescued from the bottom of a barranco by a human chain of police officers and fire fighters.

The incident took place around 12.15h when emergency services received a call to say a man had fallen down the steep bank of a stream (arroyo) and was unable to get out. Two Policía Nacional patrol cars were despatched, who upon arrival at the approximate location of the victim, had to start searching for him.

They found him lying at the bottom of a three-metre high embankment, dazed and suffering from the first stages of hypothermia.

The police decided that they needed the help of the fire service, not so much as to reach him, but to get him back up. In the meantime, they kept him awake and calm until they arrived.

The fire personnel decided to use their fire hose as a make-shift harness and then, the rescuers formed a human chain to guide the victim back up as the hose was wound in.

They gave him First Aid as the man was complaining of a strong pain in his knee. He also told them that he suffered from heart problems. These facts plus his hypothermia and his dazed state meant that the ambulance, which had arrived in the meantime, was used to take him to Hospital Santa Ana for a check up. Owing to his fragile state, he was admitted to hospital.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)