MANCHESTER — A homeless man suffered serious injuries Wednesday when he tripped on a root while heading to the banks of the Merrimack River, prompting a river rescue, District Fire Chief Al Poulin said.

James Buccan, 54, was going down an embankment near the on ramp of exit 5 of Interstate 293 toward the river to bathe about 1 p.m. Wednesday when he fell, Poulin said. Buccan hit his head, cutting it, and ended up in the river about 3 inches deep. Poulin said Buccan told rescuers that he and his wife lived in a tent near the river.

Poulin said rescuers used a stokes basket to get Buccan onto a rescue boat, rather than try to carry him up the embankment to the highway. The rescue took about 15 minutes, he said.

Buccan was taken across the river to a boat ramp near the New Hampshire Fisher Cats baseball stadium, where an ambulance was waiting to take him to Catholic Medical Center for treatment, Poulin said.

Poulin said Buccan suffered a serious head injury and could not feel his extremities after the fall.