At around 8.30pm on Friday 20 February, a man in his forties was rescued after a fall into the Mill River, a small stream that flows into the Seaview Beach in Ardglass.
Barry Mullan, a fishworker in his forties, has been sitting in a low wall on the side adjacent to the Seaview housing estate after visiting a local bar when he fell backwards while sitting alone. He suffered a serious head injury as he tumbled onto the concrete and boulders below him.
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The scene on Strangford Road in Ardglass as emergency services attended to an injured man.[/caption]
A police helicopter was quickly on the scene as were several police cars, an ambulance, and two fire tenders from the NI Fire and Rescue Service along with HM Coastguard.
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The scene where Barry Mullan tumbed into The Mill River and sustained a serious injury.[/caption]
As a crowd gathered in the freezing cold evening, the emergency crews battled to stabilise the injured man who would have been getting close to a hypothermic condition.
He was carefully moved to the ambulance when paramedics further attended to him.
Emily Connor who lives adjacent to the bridge at the Mill River said: “I saw his sitting there on the wall and when I looked back moments later he was gone.
“My husband Philip went over to check. He found Barry lying there with a serious head injury and we called the emergency services right away.
“We are glad he is now on his way to the A&E with a police escort all the way to Belfast. We understand he is now stable and will be alright. It was a very scary incident. We thought the worst had happened. But he will be alright now.”
Councillor Dermot Curran has expressed his concern over the incident and said: “I have only recently been in contact with NI Water in relation to the underground piping of the Mill River and general improvements and the sooner this is done for the health and safety of everyone the better.
“There will be 19 homes built adjacent to the Mill  River beside Seaview soon and this will be an opportunity to get this work done once and for all. I have already been in contact with Margaret Ritchie’s office about this previously and she too is working on it. We will be keeping a close eye on developments in this area.
“Safety at the Mill River has been a constant issue for many years. I wish the  young man who fell over the bridge wall a speedy recovery.”
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