A New Zealand man is thought to have drowned in Sydney's Parramatta River after falling in as he walked home from the pub.
The 22-year-old, who lives in Parramatta with his mother and siblings, was talking to his girlfriend on his cellphone as he walked home at 6.10am
yesterday.
He had been at a pub with friends and was heavily intoxicated when he apparently slipped off a concrete walkway.
The man fell into the Charles St Weir - a small overflow dam that separates tidal saltwater from freshwater in the river.
"His girlfriend said she heard rushing water and he said 'I'm stuck, get help'," said Inspector Daniel Wiggin of Parramatta police.
"She called police, she was very, very, upset."
Wiggin said several days of rain meant the weir was "overflowing dramatically".
The overflow was so bad that ferry services between Parramatta and central Sydney were stopped yesterday.
However, the path above it was well-used and one of the main thoroughfares from the central business district to North Parramatta.
However, Wiggin said people falling in to the weir was rare.
"The river is usually stagnant but after the rain the water level in the weir is a couple of metres higher than it would have been.
"He could have been swept away or he could be snagged at the bottom.
"Police divers have been in there but there is zero visibility. They can't even see their own hands."
The Sydney Water Police, police helicopter and State Emergency Service have also helped search for the man.
Wiggin said his girlfriend and family had been at the site most of the day.
"They are very upset [and] anxious. While he hasn't been found there is hope, but he was very intoxicated at the time.
"Their friends are turning up and the more people that turn up the more they break down and cry."
The search was called off about 6pm local time yesterday but Wiggin said police would be back out at first light today.
