In a chilling attack last night, a man accosted a young woman at the Demerara Harbour Bridge and attempted to sexually assault her. She fought with him and managed to fend off the attack, but he retaliated by tossing her into the river.

Operators and police officers based at the Harbour Bridge responded to cries for help and had to fish the woman out of the cold, dark water. It is unclear whether she knew how to swim, but reports are that valiant efforts were made to rescue her minutes after she went into water.

Up to press time last night police were combing the area in search of the man who managed a clean getaway while efforts were being made to rescue the woman. The man is said to have fled the scene on foot and from all accounts he was not immediately pursued.

The shocking incident occurred some time before eight o’clock last night as the woman was on the walkway at the bridge. The crossing is utilized by pedestrians and cyclists, and a large portion of it is poorly lit. According to reports, the woman was in a section of the crossing which was considered dark.

Stabroek News spoke with an individual at the bridge who requested anonymity, but claimed to have witnessed the woman being rescued. He said initially no one knew what had happened to her and everyone simply assumed that she fell into the water by accident. However, she related her story when she emerged from the river.

“The man apparently see her walking on the bridge and he try to rape her, but she put up a fight and he bail out. She is a strong girl,” the man related last night.
The young woman gave a brief statement to police officers at the bridge before she left in the company of a relative and several officers. She had a few bruises on her face and appeared to be in some discomfort when she emerged from the police outpost.

The incident attracted a small crowd as many persons were unaware of what had happened. Drivers traversing the bridge had no idea an incident had occurred, but a few stopped to enquire upon seeing persons at the bridge with flashlights beaming into the river.

Persons gathered at the scene praised the efforts of the rescue team and they also spoke of the brave fight the woman put up, but many expressed disappointment that her attacker managed to flee the scene saying that the police need to apprehend him soon.