New London – Emergency crews rescued a man who fell into the Thames River off City Pier at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Emergency officials said the man, who was not identified, had been talking on his cell phone while walking on the pier when he accidentally slipped into the water. A firefighter had to be lowered into the water on ropes to rescue the man, because he had fallen into a channel between the main pier and an adjacent series of finger piers too narrow to access by boat, officials said.

The man was exhausted but did not require emergency treatment.