Canal drained of all its water after sinkhole appears grounding barges

At least 10 people were rescued after a massive ‘sinkhole’ caused a section of canal to be drained of water.

A ‘major incident’ has been declared by police, following the collapse in the Chemistry area of Whitchurch in Shropshire.

Four narrowboats can be seen sitting on the mud in Whitchurch Canal where the water has drained completely, with two in the hole and one teetering over the edge.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to a landslip and confirmed a canal was affected, with crews called at 4.22am this morning.

West Mercia Police has described the incident as a sinkhole.

A spokesperson for the fire and rescue service said: ‘Three boats had been caught in a developing sinkhole approximately 50 metres by 50 metres in size and crews helped more than 10 members of the public to safety.

‘Firefighters have been working in challenging conditions with unstable ground and rapidly moving water, crews immediately established upstream and downstream safety sectors and began mitigating water flow using barge boards and water gate systems.’

Have you been affected by this incident? Contact sara.odeen-isbister@metro.co.uk

They added that crews were working together with multiple agencies at the scene, including police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, the Canal & River Trust, the Environment Agency, local authority emergency planning officers, and National Resilience.

Police said there are no reports of casualties, and boaters and other affected residents are being assisted by the fire service.

It asked people to avoid the area and seek alternative routes.

Andy Hall, a councillor in Whitchurch, said people had thought it was an earthquake.

He added: ‘We’ve lost a couple of boats, one is sitting at the bottom of the sinkhole at the moment.

‘There’s one teetering on the edge and could slide down at any time.

‘More has fallen away since we’ve been here this morning.’

He told the BBC that ‘millions of gallons of water’ had gone in to an adjacent field.

Lorraine Barlow, who lives on a boat called The Singing Kettle and was moored near the site, told the BBC: ‘About 4.20 this morning I could feel that there was something amiss, there seemed to be a current coming from underneath the boat, and bubbling, it sounded really unusual.’

She said the boat then started tilting to the middle of the canal and she felt the mooring ropes get tighter.

Ms Barlow then left the boat and noticed the section where there was no water and saw emergency workers at the scene.

Another Whitchurch councillor, Sho Abdul, said the fact no one was hurt was an ‘absolute miracle’.

He added: ‘We were so shocked and seeing it – it was like an explosive had gone off.

‘It’s an absolute crater, it’s devastating – especially for the people who use this area often.

‘I walk my dogs around here and I know a lot of people will want to around Christmas, so its sad.

‘But more importantly it is just incredible nobody was hurt.’

Paul Donnelly, from Middlewich-based Floating Holidays, came to assess the scene amid concerns about the impact on the canal and its traffic.

He said the canal is a ‘huge focus for tourism’ and the incident will have a major long term impact for businesses that use the canal.

He added the route is known to attract people from across the world.

The Canal and River Trust called the collapse a breach on the canal and said its priority was the safety of boaters and those in the immediate area.

A spokesperson added: ‘Our teams are on site and have dammed off the affected section of canal. The towpath and canal at this point are now closed to public access.

‘We are carrying out initial investigations into the possible cause of the breach and will provide more details in due course. 

‘We will also seek to return water levels either side of the breach as soon as possible and are providing support to the boaters affected and those in the immediate area either side of the breach.’

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.