Cyclist saved by his Apple Watch after being swept into a river

After an emergency occurred, a cyclist was saved from tragedy thanks to the Apple Watch on his wrist. Here’s what happened.

The BBC has reported that a man in Hereford was rescued from a flooded river after he called 999 from his Apple Watch. While cycling along the banks of the Wye, he was swept into the flooded river and had to cling on to the branches of a tree to guard him against the swift current.

By the Apple Watch on his wrist, he called fire control, and with the help of passers-by he was located and rescued from the danger, after holding his position for 20 minutes against the fast flow. Station commander Sean Bailey said that “his Apple watch… worked wonderfully well for us to actually get to him as quickly as possible.”

To make an emergency SOS call from your Apple Watch, simply press and hold the side button until the Emergency SOS slider pops up on the screen; drag it across to make the call.

That’s not the only emergency feature present on the Apple Watch. From Series 4 and onwards, a heavy fall triggers the Emergency SOS slider which prompts you to call for help if you need it. You can also set up a Medical ID which makes your vital information accessible to first responders via your iPhone or Apple Watch. This is done just by opening the Health app on your iPhone, tapping your profile picture, and following the on-screen instructions.

On top of that, the 24/7 heart-rate tracking on all Apple Watches allows you to keep an eye on fast, slow, or irregular rhythms that could have serious health consequences; Apple Watches Series 4 and later can even produce an ECG scan for the wearer to share with their physician.

Scary situations such as these just go to underline the crucial role that everyday tech can play in keeping you safe, and we hope that wearable tech can develop ever greater sophistication in these matters.