A MAN was rescued from the North Sea after he fell into the water from a pier at Sunderland.
The incident happened at five minutes to midnight last night on the city's North Pier, in the North Dock.
Fishermen raised the alarm and a lifeboat, coastguard rescue teams and a police helicopter searched for the man.
He was spotted after about 20 minutes and the lifeboat crew resuscitated him as they took him ashore.
The man was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital where his condition was said to be critical, but stable.
Paul Nicholson, senior helmsman at Sunderland RNLI station, said: "We found him floating on his back and began resuscitation attempts as soon as we got him on board. We believe he had been in the water for around 20 minutes."
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