An elderly man in his seventies died on
Saturday afternoon after falling from a boat in Essex.

He was found lying on mudflats on the river
Roach by two men from the Paglesham Boatyard.

Another man and a boy, believed to be the
victim’s grandson, also had to be rescued by emergency services after trying to
rescue their relative.

Gary Dunn and John Roger tried to save the
man after they were alerted to the fact that they were being swept out to sea.

The pair contacted the coastguard and
attempted to help in their own boat.

Mr Dunn told the Basildon Recorder: “We
weren’t able to get close enough to the chap on the mud to be able to assist
him due to the shallow water, so we headed down to pick up a young man and a
gentleman, who was the owner of the motor cruiser the man had fallen from.”

Mr Rogers described how the pair were in a
state of shock after being carried away down the river.

A coastguard spokeswoman said the three
people required immediate evacuation to hospital.

“The Sea
King transported the man to Colchester Hospital, arriving at 4.20pm.”

“The man was
given CPR at the scene and during the helicopter journey.”

Cause of
death has not yet been established but is not being treated as suspicious.

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Image from Out of the Loop