A COMPETITOR has suffered a medical emergency at the Maldon Little Ship Club's annual row race this afternoon (March 1).
Four ambulances, a police boat and an air ambulance were spotted responding to the incident at Hythe Quay in Maldon, to help a man who was on a rowing boat in the river.
A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service told Caroline Coastal: "We were called just before 1pm with reports of a medical emergency on a rowing boat on the river in Maldon.
"An ambulance, ambulance officer vehicle, the Hazardous Area Response Team and the East Anglian Air Ambulance were sent to the scene.
"An adult man was transported by road to the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon University Hospital for further treatment."
The man reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest while on his boat. His fellow competitors carried out CPR while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.
Race proceedings were briefly stopped while emergency services responded.
Club spokesperson Kevin Knox told Caroline Coastal: "We were very lucky to have both the RNLI lifeboat and the police here, supporting the event.
"They were both able to attend the casualty. The police boat was able to support with defib apparatus. The lifeboat team had oxygen and other essential kit.
"Between them, they saved our competitor's life. We're really grateful for what they did today."
Kevin praised the competitors who also helped their teammate, before the emergency services took over.
He added: "On board the competitor's boat, his teammates were administering CPR. It's fantastic they knew how to do that.
"As a club, we provide RNLI first aid courses which cover this topic. We encourage our members and anybody going out on the water to have that training, so they're prepared for this kind of situation."
The Maldon Little Ship Club's row race event is held annually to raise funds for the RNLI. Race results and further information will be published in due course.
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