CityNews reporter helps rescue drowning man from Bow River

A CityNews Calgary reporter is being credited with helping save a man's life after pulling him from the Bow River at Harvie Passage on Sunday afternoon.

Phoenix Phillips, a former lifeguard, was enjoying the afternoon along the river with his wife when a woman shouted that there was "a body in the water." Phillips immediately ran toward the river and spotted the man in the water. "I looked at my wife and said, 'here we go,'" he recalled.

Phillips and several bystanders worked together to bring the man to shore. Once on land, Phillips began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while another person performed chest compressions. "For fifteen minutes we worked on this guy," Phillips said. "The only thing going through my mind was we got to give this guy a fighting chance."

Paramedics arrived and took the man to hospital in life-threatening condition. Phillips estimates nearly a dozen people assisted in some way, from providing medical care to helping emergency crews manage the scene. The attending physician later told Phillips that the man had a pulse — a sign the rescue efforts had worked.

Phillips walked away with only minor scrapes from shielding the man's head during the rescue. He hopes the experience encourages others to learn first aid. "If you can help somebody, you change somebody's life," he said.