So much for being a NARROW boat! Fire crew saves family after their canal barge gets WEDGED in lock and starts SINKING
- West Midlands Fire Service called to Botterham Lock in Wombourne, at 10.22am
- Three people left stranded on the canal boat after it got wedged in the lock
- Fire crews rescued all three on board but the boat continues to block the lock
Fire crews were called to rescue four people from a canal barge after it became wedged in the lock and started sinking.
West Midlands fire crews from Wombourne and Wolverhampton arrived at Botterham Lock in Wombourne, Staffordshire, at around 10.40am today.
Three people were stuck on the boat after it became wedged and started sinking into the lock.
Fire crews were called to rescue four people from a canal barge after it became wedged in the lock and started sinking at Botterham Lock in Wombourne, Staffordshire
The stern of the canal barge became stuck on the cill which caused the front end of the boat to dip below the water
A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Control said: ‘It was a 70ft narrow boat that had partially sunk in a double canal lock.
‘The stern of the boat was still a float and it was stuck on the lock and the bow was under water.
‘There were three people on the boat but we used a trip extension ladder to assist them off.’
Witness Edward Hetherton said that the family must have got the stern of the barge stuck on the cill which caused the front end to dip below the surface of the water.
Witness Ed Hetherton said that the canal boat continues to block the lock and has left 10 other boats with nowhere to go
Three people were left stranded on the boat when it got wedged on the cill and began to partially sink.All three onboard were rescued by fire crews and were uninjured
He said: ‘It’s partially submerged. The back is out of the water wedged on the cill.
‘The front is under water. Because the boat is wedged and blocking the lock there are 10 canal boats stuck either side who can’t go anywhere.’
None of the people onboard the canal barge were injured and all three were rescued by the fire service.
It is thought that the rescued family had rented the boat while holidaying in the area.