Video: man rescued from Lagan River in major operation

The incident unfolded just before 8.50am, and large numbers of firefighters and police were in attendance at the scene.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was taken to a waiting ambulance.

It happened at the Lagan Weir, near the Obel tower.

He was rescued from around the middle of the weir’s north side, visible in this video.

That is the upriver side, rather than the one facing into Belfast Lough.

The News Letter was on the scene a few moments after he was put into the ambulance.

Levees at the weir, which essentially controls the flow near the mouth of the river, had been raised during the incident.

This was to try and reduce the rate of flow of water, which appeared to be in the upriver direction due to the incoming tide.

A firefighter at the scene explained that reducing the flow could help mitigate the amount of heat lost from the person’s body.

The man’s condition is not known. The ambulance waited for a number of minutes before moving off.

A boat crew from the weir had helped to pull him from the very cold water.

Fire group commander Philip Martin said there were around 15 firefighters at the scene, including specialist rescue officers, and probably as many police.

He estimated the age of the man to be “late 20s”.

“You can imagine yourself, he’s obviously very cold,” he said.

“We’ve not idea the reasons why the gentleman was in the water at all.”

His crew had been notified of the incident at about 8.50am.