Man dies after getting into trouble in the River Trent as police issue warning to anyone swimming in hot weather

• Nottinghamshire Police confirm recovery of a man’s body from River Trent
• Emergency services had received reports of someone in difficulty in the water
• His family have been informed and police have warned of danger of open water

A body has been recovered from the River Trent following a massive search operation for a man who fell into difficulty in the open water.

Nottinghamshire Police confirmed that the man’s body, who was first spotted at the Victoria Embankment stretch near to the city, had been retrieved at 3.30pm today.

His family have been informed of the development and are now being supported by specially-trained officers following the incident.

The emergency services, who were called just before 1.15pm, issued a statement to remind the public of the dangers of entering open water.

A body has been recovered from the River Trent following a massive search operation for a man who fell into difficulty in the water

Sergeant Pete Shaw from Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘Emergency services have sadly recovered the body of a man from the River Trent today, despite the best efforts of rescue teams and members of the public who helped at the scene.

‘While work is now underway to understand how the man came into difficulty, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight this case as a reminder of the devastating consequences of entering open water – regardless of whether people do so deliberately or inadvertently.

‘As in this tragic case, open water can have hidden dangers that can prove fatal and I would urge anyone who spends any time on or near open water to use this case as a devastating reminder of that – particularly during the recent warm weather we have been experiencing.’

Police are not treating the man’s death as suspicious and a file will now be prepared for the Coroner.

Sergeant Pete Shaw from Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘Emergency services have sadly recovered the body of a man from the River Trent today, despite the best efforts of rescue teams and members of the public who helped at the scene’

Victoria Embankment had been closed to traffic while emergency services continued their work at the scene. The road has now fully re-opened. 

Nicola Rose, who lives in The Meadows near to the Embankment, said: ‘There are nine fire engines, four ambulances and two police cars.

‘There is an under water search team and more sirens are coming.

‘There are loads of flashing lights and my daughter has just seen the air ambulance landing.’ 

Irene Vickers, 66, originally of The Meadows and her husband Tony, said it was always drilled into them not to swim in the water as they played on the Embankment as children.

She said: ‘I just saw one lad saying to his mum: “but it looks so calm”. That’s just it. It looks really calm and inviting but it’s what is underneath. We used to be down here all day, we would take a bottle of water and a marmalade sandwich but it was always drilled into us, “do not go in the water”.’

Gary Wardel, 53, of Clifton, was doing his regular 10 mile walk when he saw two men going for a swim but only one man made it across.

He added: ‘There was a boat trying to help him and other two men jumped in to help. I just wanted to jump in.

‘No one knows how strong the current is. I used to swim in it when I was younger but I wouldn’t now. It’s a horrible thing to see. I couldn’t believe it at first, I thought he was messing around.’ 

Anyone who saw the man in the water or who has any other information about the incident is urged to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 449 of 26 August.

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