A man has died in a drowning incident that occurred in County Durham last weekend.

The incident took place at St John’s Chapel Ford in Weardale shortly after 9pm on Saturday, July 22.

The North East Air Ambulance Service attended, as well as the Great North Air Ambulance, and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.

A Spokesperson from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to reports of a man in the River Wear at Burnfoot, St John’s Chapel at approximately 9:20pm on Saturday evening (July 22 2023).

Read more: Drowning incident in County Durham sees emergency services rush to scene

“Several emergency service vehicles attended including a fire engine from Stanhope and Middleton in Teesdale fire stations and water rescue teams from Durham and Bishop Auckland fire stations. 

“Sadly, our water rescue teams recovered the body of a man from the river.

“Our thoughts remain with the man’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.” 

A spokesperson for the Great North Air Ambulance Service said: “On Saturday our critical care team was activated at 9.22pm to reports of a drowning incident at St John’s Chapel Ford in Weardale.

“We had a paramedic and doctor respond to the scene on a rapid response vehicle.”

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A spokesperson for the North East Air Ambulance said: “We were called to St John's Chapel ford at 9.12 on the evening of Saturday 22 July.

“We dispatched two vehicles from our Hazardous Area Response Team, a double crewed ambulance, and a duty officer and requested support from HEMS, Great North Air Ambulance's rapid response car.”

Durham Police was approached for comment.