Two men have told of the dramatic moment they dived into the water to save a family after their car plunged into Burntisland harbour.
Callum Carnegie, 19, and Connor Jarvie, 23, were enjoying the sunshine when they heard a loud splash and saw a crowd gathering near the water, where three young girls were struggling to get out of the sinking car’s window.
Five people, including young children, had been in the vehicle at the Beacon Leisure Centre car park, when it suddenly careered forward and nosedived down a five-feet drop into the Firth of Forth.
It is understood the driver had his leg in a cast which became jammed inside the car, with eyewitnesses reporting hearing the engine revving.
Connor, from Cumbernauld, said he did not hesitate to jump into the water.
He explained: “It just happened so quickly.
“My friend Connor and I were about 50 yards away and we just heard a splash.
“We turned round and saw people looking towards the water, saying there were girls and a man in there.
“We jumped in and helped them out of the car. We got the man to shore first and then the girls.
“The emergency services took around 20 minutes to arrive – I don’t know what would’ve happened if we’d waited, but we didn’t want to take the chance.
“Afterwards we were in shock and were asked if we wanted to go to hospital, but we were fine.”
Callum, from Falkirk, described how the pair helped to calm down the driver and four passengers after pulling them to safety.
He said: “They weren’t injured but were in shock and very distressed.
“We put towels round them and tried to keep them calm until the emergency services arrived.
“We were very shaken up ourselves.
“We’d seen the car sinking and jumped in, swimming towards it and pulled the people out through the window.
“My girlfriend called 999 while I was in the water.
Emergency services raced to the scene but found the car completely submerged.
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A police spokeswoman put the incident down to “purely driver error” but said nobody had been hurt.
There was some speculation from bystanders that the driver’s foot had slipped off the clutch and hit the accelerator.
There is no fence surrounding the car park, meaning vehicles can just drive over a footpath and down a stone embankment into the water.
The RNLI released a video of their part in the rescue, which shows the car completely submerged.
One witness said it was amazing nobody had been hurt.
“It’s a lovely day and the place is mobbed,” he said.
“It’s lucky there were no kids playing in front of the car.”
Another said: “I heard the engine of a car revving on the other side of the beach and turned to look and saw a car had accelerated into the water just by the swimming pool.
“It didn’t take long for the car to submerge but I saw people coming out of the water so no-one seems to be hurt.”
A rescue helicopter circled the area as Queensferry Lifeboat searched the area to ensure everyone was accounted for.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said they were waiting until low tide before recovering the vehicle.
“The car is still in situ and there is no-one trapped,” she said.
“It was an empty car which is now completely submerged in the harbour.
“We will be liaising with the coastguard to recover the vehicle later tonight.”
