A man is critically ill after falling into a 9.1m (30ft) deep empty water tank in Co Down.
The construction worker, 47, was at a water pumping site on Ashley Drive, Bangor, when the incident happened at around 8.30am today.
He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital with head and back injuries after a rescue which took around an hour and a half. Paramedics, fire crews and a specialist rope rescue team were called.
An ambulance service spokesman said: “With the potential for spinal injuries he had to be taken up very flat, it was a good team effort.”
He added medics arrived within five minutes and stabilised the victim before he could be moved. The only access was a narrow ladder and emergency crews had to work in a confined space.
A fire service spokeswoman said teams from Bangor, Newtownards and Belfast helped in the rescue.
The victim was conscious and his fellow workers were very distressed.
PA