Man dies in canal after falling off narrow boat at marina near Rugby

A man has tragically died after he fell into the Grand Union canal at a marina in a village near Rugby.

The man, who hasn’t been named, slipped off a narrow boat into the icy water at Welford Marina just after 10.15am on Friday (March 4).

A full-scale emergency service operation was launched to try to save the casualty after the alert was sounded at the popular village marina.

Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, the regional air ambulance and land ambulances dashed to the scene.

Fire appliances from Lutterworth and Wigston, a water rescue unit from Market Harborough fire station and a technical rescue team from Leicester’s Southern fire station were all scrambled.

Firefighters using specialist equipment recovered the man from the water but he was sadly pronounced dead.

“Unfortunately he was declared deceased at the scene,” said Leicestershire Police today.

“A file is being prepared for HM Coroner and identification will be a matter for the coroner.”