Quick-thinking crew members of a familiar cargo ship have been praised after they helped save a drowning man.

Polla Rose had just unloaded 500 tonnes of sand at Comley’s Wharf, Fulham, and was returning to base for another job when the crew heard a man’s cries near Plantation Wharf.

The crew, led by master Kevin Hughes, knew they had to act. He said: “He was shouting, ‘Help me, I’m drowning’. I didn’t know how quickly the police would arrive, so I decided to have a go at saving him. “He was clearly distressed and in grave danger. We caught up with him between Imperial

Wharf and where the Sainsbury’s is, and the mate managed to get a life
ring to him. But he was disappearing under the water, so we got alongside him.”

The Polla Rose carefully drew
alongside the struggling man and threw a life ring but were unable to get him safely on board.

Meanwhile, Port of London VTS contacted the police and officers arrived shortly after.

A few officers boarded the vessel
and one, WPC Ky Bukhari, climbed down the ship’s ladder to help but
fell in too as she struggled to hold
the 40-year-old man’s head above
the water.

The man and police officer were both pulled to safety and later treated in hospital but weren’t injured.

John Greenleaf, managing director
of Polla Rose ship-owners Thames Shipping Ltd, said: “We are so
proud of our crew, who had no
other thought than to help the man.
“It was the early hours of the morning, around 3.30am, and the tide was strong so it wouldn’t have been easy
to manoeuvre Polla Rose. This is testament to their calibre and their commitment to their profession.”

Insp Chris Green, from the Metropolitan police’s marine policing unit, said: “PC Bukhari did not think twice about putting her own life in danger in order to help the man in
the water. The officers from the
marine policing unit’s quick thinking played a vital role in not only
rescuing the casualty, but their
own colleague as well.”

The 52-metre long Polla Rose has been a familiar sight on the tidal Thames since around 2008.