traceyandsteve
New member
what happened and are all ok ?
who hit the bridge on the thames ?
- Thread starter traceyandsteve
- Start date
paulineb
Active member
which bridge ?
traceyandsteve
New member
the one the boat hit and 8 pees got rescued..
traceyandsteve
New member
the one the boat hit and 8 peeps got rescued..
traceyandsteve
New member
don't know just heard it on the radio something to do with spectators at the boat race
paulineb
Active member
when we used to go on the river, Hammersmith Bridge was a right bastard. It's so low !!!
starboard
Active member
BBC online say Passenger barge hit Hammersmith Bridge......all OK.
paulineb
Active member
I remember coming back from France a couple of years ago, and hearing that the IRA had bombed Hammersmith Bridge - the stupid buggers cocked it up !
Velorum
New member
Found this eye witness description in the RibTech forum:
We were walking back to the car along the river, stopping to film passing boats. As we got to Hammersmith Bridge we noticed a large passenger barge coming towards the bridge. Today was a very high spring tide, so clearance under the bridge must have been about 10 feet. We watched on as the barge attempted to proceed under the bridge! The inevitable happened, and the barge hit the bridge, getting totally jammed. It then swung round so that the bow hit one of the pillars holding the bridge up. The tide was still rising, and the boat started to lean over to one side…
Three or so minutes later the passengers were on deck in lifejackets, and two RNLI “E class” Ribs turned up with blue lights flashing. The 8 passengers were transferred to one of the RIBs and taken away. Over the next few minutes five or so other police/PLA and RNLI RIBs turned up, and attempted to remove the barge from under the bridge. By this time the police had closed the bridge…..
Ten minutes later the boat was still stuck, and having tried to pull the barge out, the boats proceeded to try and ram it out. With probably well over 1500hp of RIB and police launch (5 or 6 boats in all) power, the barge slowly edged it’s way clear of the bridge, accompanied by the sound of bending steel, breaking glass and cheers from the hundreds of people that had stopped to watch. Presumably the barges’ engines must have been in operable as the barge was towed back down river.
We were walking back to the car along the river, stopping to film passing boats. As we got to Hammersmith Bridge we noticed a large passenger barge coming towards the bridge. Today was a very high spring tide, so clearance under the bridge must have been about 10 feet. We watched on as the barge attempted to proceed under the bridge! The inevitable happened, and the barge hit the bridge, getting totally jammed. It then swung round so that the bow hit one of the pillars holding the bridge up. The tide was still rising, and the boat started to lean over to one side…
Three or so minutes later the passengers were on deck in lifejackets, and two RNLI “E class” Ribs turned up with blue lights flashing. The 8 passengers were transferred to one of the RIBs and taken away. Over the next few minutes five or so other police/PLA and RNLI RIBs turned up, and attempted to remove the barge from under the bridge. By this time the police had closed the bridge…..
Ten minutes later the boat was still stuck, and having tried to pull the barge out, the boats proceeded to try and ram it out. With probably well over 1500hp of RIB and police launch (5 or 6 boats in all) power, the barge slowly edged it’s way clear of the bridge, accompanied by the sound of bending steel, breaking glass and cheers from the hundreds of people that had stopped to watch. Presumably the barges’ engines must have been in operable as the barge was towed back down river.
