CityNews reporter credited with rescuing man from Bow River in Calgary Sunday

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

Phoenix Phillips, a former lifeguard, and his wife were spending the afternoon along the river when a woman shouted that there was "a body in the water." Phillips immediately ran toward the river.

"When you hear that, I turn my head to the right, and there it was," he said. "I looked at my wife and said, 'here we go.'"

Phillips and several bystanders worked together to bring the man to shore. Phillips began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation once on land, 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."

EMS took the man to hospital in life-threatening condition. Phillips estimates nearly a dozen people helped in some way, from providing medical care to assisting emergency crews.

A physician later told Phillips the outcome: "He has a pulse and you guys saved him." Phillips sustained only minor scrapes while shielding the man's head against a rock. He hopes the rescue encourages others to learn first aid.