helicopters at shields pier????
Emergency services were called after a man was walking into the water at South Shields Pier.
A search of the harbour area was immediately carried out by South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade, the inshore lifeboat and helicopter from RAF Boulmer.
But after two hours the man had yet to be traced.
The drama started at 3.50pm, when the harbour watchman saw a man enter the water near the locked gates at the end of the South Pier and swim off in a northerly direction.
The watchman immediately pressed a panic button to alert the emergency services, and ran to the pier.
By the time he reached the point where the man entered the water, he was nowhere in sight.
It is believed the police had earlier received a report of a missing person.
However, they have been unable to corroborate whether the man who entered the water fitted his description,
Tom Fennelly, honorary secretary of South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade, said It was reported that the male was wearing a dark blue bomber jacket when he walked into the water and started to swim. He hasn't been seen since.
From shields gazette.