Biker rescued after plunging off bridge during a triathlon in North Carolina

A biker was rescued after he plunged off a bridge during a triathlon in North Carolina.

Fire officials were called to the bridge in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and McRae Street in Wilmington around 9 a.m. on Oct. 23, Rebekah Thurston, a spokesperson for the Wilmington Fire Department, told McClatchy News on Thursday. EMS and police were already on the scene.

The man had fallen from the bridge into the marshy area below during the biking portion of the event, Thurston said. It was an estimated 40- to 60-foot fall.

Thurston said the man “appeared to be fine” when firefighters arrived but couldn’t get out of the marsh.

Firefighters were able to do a “high angle rope rescue” and pull the man out, according to Thurston. He was examined by EMS on the scene but declined to be taken to a hospital by ambulance.

No other information about the rescue was available as of Thursday.

Wilmington is in southeastern North Carolina, about 130 miles from Raleigh.

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