'They saved my life!' – UoB community heroes make a canal rescue
The day it happened
On a muddy Tuesday afternoon in late February, at around 15:30, a man, was cycling along the canal by University Station. The air was damp, the path slippery, but it was a ride he had taken before — until the moment everything changed.
A sudden obstruction forced him to brake hard, sending him flying off the handlebars of his electric bike. In an instant, he was sucked into the cold, murky water of the canal. His clothes, heavy with water, pulled him under. Fully submerged, the weight of his suit dragged him deeper, and panic began to set in.
The man describes coming to terms with the fact that he was going to die. For a moment, he fought, resisting the pull of the water, but as the reality sank in and he realised there was no way out, an odd sense of peace washed over him. Then, ‘as if by miracle’, a hand emerged from the murk, grabbing at his coat. This was the hand of ‘Rob’ - a young man who had without hesitation bravely and decisively leaped into the canal to save him.
Nearby, Omar, a local community member of the University, witnessed the scene. Without thinking, he rushed over to help, pulling the man and his bike from the water. He describes seeing a man as ‘completely drenched and starting to lose colour’. Fearing for his life as the man was struggling to breathe after inhaling gallons of dirty canal water, Omar rushed to get medical help.
Vincenzo, an Italian Exchange student from Florence who’s here studying English for six months, was jogging along the canal when he stumbled upon the scene. His instincts kicked in. "I just wanted to help", he says. He stayed after Omar left to get help and ‘Rob’ went to change out of his wet clothes, talking to him and keeping him engaged to prevent shock. Vincenzo remembers reassuring the man, ensuring he stayed mentally alert as they waited for the paramedics.
Paramedics met the guys at the scene took the man to hospital where he has since fully recovered.
A call out to ‘Rob’ – potentially a UoB student?
Speaking about ‘Rob’, Omar says he’d like to ‘commend him for his brave actions’. He describes how ‘with no thought or no regard to his own wellbeing, he jumped into the canal and rescued the man’. The search for ‘Rob’ continues, but he remains a mystery, a figure remembered for his fearless attitude and fiercely bright hair.
If you’re ‘Rob’, or think you know who ‘Rob’ may be, please contact us at studentcommunications@contacts.bham.ac.uk so we can say thank you.
A final thank you
To Omar, Vincenzo and anyone else in our community that helped, thank you – thank you for your empathy, your quick thinking and your selflessness. Stories like this remind us of the importance of community and looking after one another.
The man who fell into the canal offered his immense gratitude to his rescuers who he believes saved his life that day.