A search is continuing to find a 16-year-old boy who got into difficulties while swimming with friends in a river. Colin Dodds was with two teenagers in the River Wear, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, when he began to struggle and was unable to reach the river bank. A joint operation involving police, ambulance, the fire service, the RAF and search and rescue teams is under way. The search will continue throughout the night if necessary, Durham Police said. A spokesman said Colin, from the Woodhouse Close Estate, in Bishop Auckland, was swimming with two friends at an area of the river downhill from the town's Market Place, known locally as the Batts. His friends, who are also aged 16, raised the alarm at around 5.15pm when Colin failed to emerge from the river. An ambulance crew, the Great North Air Ambulance, the police and the fire and rescue service all attended the scene. Three helicopters - the air ambulance, a police helicopter and a crew from RAF Boulmer in Northumberland - have been involved in searches for Colin along the river. Teesdale and Weardale Search and Rescue have also been asked to help. Chief Inspector Sukhsham Sahani, of Durham Police, said: "The police and other agencies are making every effort to locate Colin and our work will continue throughout the night if necessary. "His family are understandably distraught and are being kept fully updated." | 
