Man rescued from Rideau Canal in critical condition

Rideau Canal rescue Ottawa firefighters rescued a man from the frigid waters of the Rideau Canal Saturday morning. CTV's Natalie van Rooy reports.

Ottawa Fire Services says a man was rescued from the Rideau Canal Saturday morning.

A caller to 9-1-1 reported a man in the water at 6:27 a.m. along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway near the Corktown Footbridge, south of the Laurier Avenue Bridge.

Firefighters arrived within two minutes and set up a ladder to reach the man, who was suffering from hypothermia and unable to use his arms or legs.

He was removed from the water at 6:38 a.m., but was going in and out of consciousness, according to OFS spokesperson Nick DeFazio.

Firefighters and water rescue technicians treated the man at the scene and kept him warm in the fire truck before paramedics arrived.

Ottawa paramedics brought the man to the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital in critical condition.