A woman was rescued by a Gypsumville RCMP officer after she drove her car off the roadway and into the Fairford River this past week.
On May 10, 2013, at about 5pm, Gypsumville RCMP were dispatched to a report of a distraught adult female in Fairford, Manitoba. Police were advised that the woman had left a residence in a vehicle.
While patrolling the area, RCMP members located the woman in her vehicle at the Fairford bridge. When police attempted to make contact with the woman, she drove her vehicle off of the roadway and into the Fairford River.
RCMP report that the current was moving very quickly, and the water was extremely cold. The vehicle began floating downstream, and police observed the woman exit the vehicle just before it sank. The woman was observed to go under water several times and was in danger of drowning.
Police say that an RCMP Constable removed his duty equipment and went into the water to rescue the woman. He was able to swim out to her and was pulling her to shore when they were picked up by rescuers in a boat. They had floated approximately 2km downstream by this time.
Both were transported to hospital for treatment of exposure to the cold.
