There are fears teenagers are trapped underwater after a car plunged into the River Wear in Sunderland.
Police, firefighters, coastguard, paramedics and the air ambulance are among those to be called to the scene.
Three teenagers are feared to be in the car that entered the river. It’s understood that four people were in the vehicle when it plunged into the water, but the driver reportedly managed to jump out of the car.
Members of the public are being asked to avoid the area, with the response to the incident remaining ongoing at this time. Boats have been seen on the water with many emergency crews parked near Panns Bank.
An air ambulance landed nearby, while lifeboat volunteers have been seen scouring the river on boats.
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A police cordon is in place which has been extended, with the public being urged to avoid the area at this time.
The Wearmouth Bridge remains open to traffic as usual.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: ‘Shortly before 1.30pm today (Tuesday), we received a report of a car entering the River Wear near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland. Emergency services are currently at the scene, we would ask members of the public to avoid the area.’
NEAS also said this: ‘We received a call to 999 at 1.23pm today (Tuesday 29 September 2026) to reports of an incident involving a car entering the River Wear near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland.
‘We sent to the scene an emergency ambulance, a clinical team leader, three officers, air ambulance and the full Hazardous Area Response Team (HART). We are working closely with the coastguard and the police, and we remain on scene at this time.’
A TWFRS spokesperson added the following: ‘We can confirm that earlier this afternoon, two fire appliances, the fire boat and a number of officers were dispatched to an ongoing incident on the River Wear, near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland. Our dedicated teams are assisting blue light colleagues with the ongoing rescue efforts.”
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