“He stayed underwater for more than 15 minutes,” says Maud, a resident of the Saint-Denis canal.
The firefighters intervened around 4:30 p.m. this Wednesday to rescue a young man who fell in the canal, rue Claude-Bernard, in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis).
Once there, the emergency services dived to get him out of the water.
“The main victim was in a state of absolute emergency.
Three other men who were also found in the water were slightly injured ”, specifies the Paris fire brigade (BSPP).
Dogs to sniff out the position of victims
According to the testimony of residents, the young man slipped from the banks, before falling into the water around 4:15 p.m.
Not knowing how to swim, he quickly sank to the bottom of the canal.
Three other men then dived "probably to rescue him".
"When I passed, there was a crowd of distraught residents on the banks so it was not very clear," explains Maud, who lives nearby.
Alerted, about fifteen firefighters arrived at the scene of the drowning.
Among them, a group was dispatched to the area by water in an inflatable zodiac.
Two dogs were mobilized.
“Even in the water, they can smell traces of body odor.
They are taken to locate the position of a submerged person.
It's impressive, but it works, ”says the BSPP.
Read also Aubervilliers: another body discovered in a canal in Seine-Saint-Denis
At the scene, rescue teams found four people in the water.
"Two had already been for a few minutes and a third had obviously just jumped to help them", details the Paris fire brigade (BSPP).
Firefighters quickly dived to rescue the young man at the bottom of the canal.
In "serious condition", the latter was taken care of by an ambulance, then taken to an intensive care unit.
“He looked very young.
His father went with him to the hospital, reports Maud, moved.
Everyone present was very downcast and resigned.
"
"This place is not particularly dangerous"
Just after the accident, this neighborhood resident posted a message on the Facebook group “La Ferme d'Aubervilliers” to express her anger.
According to her, the young man was sleeping in a squat where dozens of people in precariousness live.
“I know some of them by sight.
A young person from this group cleans the cars with water from the canal, ”she says.
"This place is not particularly dangerous," she observes, although she remembers a corpse recovered last year.
But there is no barrier on the edge of the canal, so you can easily fall over it.
"
Since the beginning of July, two people have been killed in the Saint-Denis canal, one in Saint-Denis, the other in Aubervilliers.
