Man found alive after hours in Victoria harbour

 A man has been pulled alive from Victoria's Inner Harbour after spending what could have been hours in the water.

Victoria police say a person was spotted in distress in the chilly water late Wednesday afternoon.

Fire crews, the coast guard and a Saanich police dive team searched the area, even checking under nearby docks, but the person was not found.

Just after 7 p.m., roughly three hours later, officers located a swimmer suffering from what a police statement says was cold exposure.

The statement says police pulled the man to safety and confirmed he was the same person seen in the water earlier in the day.

He is being treated in hospital and police say the file remains open.