Fisher rescues man who washed up on isolated bank of South Saskatchewan River

Roque Andres Junior and his friends planned to spend a quiet summer night fishing on the outskirts of Saskatoon this week.

They were sitting in their chairs, lines in the water, in their favourite spot on the South Saskatchewan River bank. Then they heard a loud thump around a corner.

Andres walked around the corner of the beach. He saw a man lying half on the shore and half in the water. The man could speak, but couldn't move.

"I didn't know what was going on," Andres said. "I walked over there and said 'You OK?' He's like, 'No.' He was very weak. I tried helping him up but he was basically like dead weight. He had no strength. He couldn't pull himself up."

Andres said the man told him he fell in the water and was treading water and swimming, trying for several hours before he made it to shore.

Fire and ambulance officials were called to help a man who washed ashore on the South Saskatchewan River this week. A Saskatoon man and his friends discovered the man and called 9-1-1. (Supplied by Roque Andres Junior)

"I was quite shocked actually to see someone in that state," he said. "I realized he was even worse than I thought. So that's when I tried helping him out," Andres said.

Andres called 911. He covered the man in his sweatshirt, then walked approximately 500 metres to the nearest road access. His friends waited with the man.

When paramedics arrived, they parked the vehicle and walked with Andres to the shore. They quickly decided the man required hospitalization, but carrying him all the way back to the ambulance was not possible, Andres said.

They requested assistance and Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services sent a boat. They picked the man up and ferried him to a part of the riverbank accessible by vehicles. The man was then placed in the ambulance and taken to hospital.

Andres said he isn't sure how the man is doing. He had a large forehead cut and bruising, and was unable to sit up by himself. But Andres said he was able to form complete sentences and the paramedics told him the man should be OK.

Emergency officials were not available to provide an update on the man's condition Thursday.

Andres said the whole experience still doesn't seem real. He noted that part of the riverbank is isolated, and they often spend an entire day at the spot without seeing anyone.

"If I hadn't been there, if I hadn't decided to go fishing last night, who knows what could have been. He would have been in worse shape than than he already was," he said.