THIS is the moment a group of hero students lifted a dog from a muddy canal in a daring rescue operation after the pooch fell in.
Jack Spencer Furmston and Ben Camphor had been heading home from a coffee shop yesterday in Manchester when they saw Batu Akyol struggling with a lead over a canal wall.
Approaching the Ancoats Canal, the two 20-year-olds discovered Batu’s dog Sumak had fallen into the water, and so immediately launched a rescue attempt with the aid of five other passers-by.
Incredible footage shows Ben suspended upside down, inching down the canal wall as his legs are held by the five other men, whilst another man hangs from the wall further along, directing him.
The brown dog can be seen clinging to the wall of the canal, seeming panicked as his owner grips him tightly by the lead a few feet above him.
Ben can then be seen stretching out and grabbing Sumak by the collar, wrenching the poor pooch out of the freezing waters.
The dog scrambles for grip with its rear paws as Ben manages to get his arms under its front legs, whilst his band of rescuers hoist the youngster back up,
A flurry of arms extend out as Ben reaches the top, pulling the student and the soaking dog up and over the wall to safety, as a round of applause erupts from the group and onlookers in celebration.
The footage was shared by passerby Dabhidh MhicEamailinn on social media yesterday with the caption: “Dog rescued Ancoats.”
The video has since received over 36,500 likes, and more than 650 comments from users who applauded the valiant efforts of the men.
Ivan Camphor wrote: “So proud of my son Ben Camphor.”
Gerard McDermott said: “Well done, lads.”
Tracey Rich commented: “Humans! You can be bloody brilliant, why be anything else?”
Manchester MMA fighter Brendan Loughnane said: “Yes the boys.”
Rory Cowan added: “Ah, that’s lovely. Warms the heart.”
Speaking to Ben today he said: “It was a beautiful day, so me and Jack went for a coffee. Once we had left the café I saw a guy with his lead in the river.
“It’s a crazy place, so I thought ‘Is he walking a duck?’ and I said to Jack, ‘I’ll have a look’ and saw a dog in the canal really struggling.
“Everyone was panicking. I couldn’t let that dog down and not help, so I put my jumper down and sprung into action – climbing down first.
“I’m a dog owner myself, so there wasn’t a chance I was going to leave it on its own but I couldn’t get it the first time.
“The second time, I was upside-down for at least a minute and got a hole in my jeans but jeans are temporary and no one was injured.
“After we saved the dog, we were like ‘There’s got to be a dog video somewhere, there was a guy holding a camera.’
“We ran around the canal and the guy holding it was ecstatic. We watched it but he had completely missed the shot where we saved the dog.
“But, around eight o’clock last night I was about to fall asleep when I got a call saying it was all over Twitter.
“The couple whose dog it was are from London, they had come to visit. He’s a producer and writer.
“We’ve since had a little back and forth and he’s told me the dog is good, he’s chilling.”
Speaking to Jack Spencer Furmston today he said: “Ben, being curious, had thought it was someone with a duck as a pet but as we went up we realised it was a dog in the river.”
Aidan Flint, who had been cycling past the unfolding events, offered his assistance and aided in hoisting Ben down to reach the dog.
“The dog had somehow got in there and was starting to sink in the canal because of the mud.
“The crowd had begun to build, so the tallest person – which was Ben – was flipped upside down and he was able to grab the dog, as shown in the video.
“Afterwards, the dog was wagging its tail and jumping up and down, so excited.
“We didn’t think anyone had even watched the video but Gary Neville liked it and it then came up as one of my Twitter suggestions.
“Ben was asleep after having an experience and a half. I phoned him at the gym and he had to create a Twitter account to see it.
“We spoke to the people from London and the dog was called Sumak. It just shows that Manchester has nice people who will help each other.”
