Apple Watch saves cyclist swept into river

A cyclist was able to call for emergency help on his Apple Watch, after he was caught up in flooding along the River Wye in the U.K.

Apple Watch keeps on saving lives, with the latest example seeing a cyclist get rescued during the current river flooding in England.

According to the BBC and local radio station BBC Hereford & Worcester, the unnamed cyclist was carried a mile downstream on the swollen River Wye. He managed to hold on to a tree branch by the water, and called for help.

"He was speaking to our fire control whilst he was clinging onto a tree, via his Apple Watch," said rescue station commander Sean Bailey, "which worked wonderfully well for us to actually get to him as quickly as possible."

Bailey said that the cyclist had been "very quickly swept into the fast-flowing" part of the river. "We're very surprised that he didn't lose his grip," he continued.

The River Wye runs through Rotherwas in Hereford, near the border between England and Wales. At times during January 2021, it has been subject to flood warnings, as have many parts of the UK.

Apple Watch is able to make phone calls via LTE, or via a paired iPhone. It also features an Emergency SOS feature, which will contact the local authorities, and then text a user's specified emergency contacts.

5 Comments

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

About 3 years ago

That's why I wear my Apple Watch with LTE every hour except when it's charging: Ya just never know.... It's better to be prepared than sorry -- especially when the Apple Watch offers so many other very helpful features.

At this point, I am getting more value from my Apple Watch than from my iPhone -- even though it cost about half as much!

chaicka 257 comments · 14 Years

GeorgeBMac said:

That's why I wear my Apple Watch with LTE every hour except when it's charging: Ya just never know.... It's better to be prepared than sorry -- especially when the Apple Watch offers so many other very helpful features.

At this point, I am getting more value from my Apple Watch than from my iPhone -- even though it cost about half as much!

Kinda agrees. Over the years since the first Watch at launch day (now on sorta my 2nd one), its value to the health improvements and expenditure which would have otherwise been spent on healthcare treatments, diagnostics, consultations, medications, etc will likely been at least 5-10 times more than the cost of the two Watches. Was frequently bed-ridden 1-2 years before the arrival of first Watch.

While it is yet to be proven, I am now sorta able to get early warnings of a migraine or serious headache coming up. This is based on several stats being off-normal (e.g. sudden dip in blood oxygen level into the high 70s to low 80s).

MacPro 19838 comments · 18 Years

GeorgeBMac said:

That's why I wear my Apple Watch with LTE every hour except when it's charging: Ya just never know.... It's better to be prepared than sorry -- especially when the Apple Watch offers so many other very helpful features.

At this point, I am getting more value from my Apple Watch than from my iPhone -- even though it cost about half as much!

I almost agree, but I like having both :)

dwebarts 9 comments · 4 Years

I leave my iPhone at home when I'm going for a walk or short errands. I'm never separated from my Apple Watch. It's my wallet as well thanks to Apple Pay.

litoloop 96 comments · 12 Years

video or it’s not true 😅 kidding aside, this is a great feature of the watch that i hope i won’t be using 😅

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