Major incident declared over Shropshire canal ‘sinkhole’

A major incident has been declared over what police have called a sinkhole in a canal in Shropshire, which left boats sunk in an open cavity or on the edge of a steep cliff.

Footage appears to show the structural integrity of a stretch of waterway in the Whitchurch Chemical area has completely given way, raising fears of flooding.

Two boats are said to have sunk in the hole, from which the water appears to have completely drained. Two others are on the brink.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to a landslide and confirmed a canal was affected. There are no reports of casualties, according to West Mercia Police.

The force asked people to avoid the area and find alternative routes.

He added that fire crews were supporting people in other parts of the nearby canal.

The Canal and River Trust described the incident as a breach in the canal and said its priority was the safety of boaters and those in the immediate area.

“We are carrying out initial investigations into the possible cause of the breach and will provide further details in due course,” he said.

“We will also aim to restore water levels on both sides of the breach as soon as possible and provide support to affected boaters and those in the immediate area on both sides of the breach.”

Whitchurch councilor Andy Hall said the incident occurred at around 0500 GMT.

“We have two ships at the bottom of the sinkhole that have fallen in, and we have two ships that are teetering on the edge and could sink at any time,” he told the BBC.

“Obviously [the fire service is] Let’s make them safe.”

And he added: “[People] I thought there was an earthquake.

“On the right, we have the field that has probably taken about a million gallons of water out of the canal.”

He said the fire service had put in place a flood gate to stop more water from flowing from the compromised canal.

“The most important thing is that the canal has been secured by firefighters and rescue teams,” he said. “Their biggest concern was that the canal would burst even more and flood the city’s residents.”

He said there was no one aboard “the two ships that sank,” adding that fire crews had helped bring to safety people on the ships “that were teetering on the edge of the abyss.”

He added that, contrary to speculation on social media, there was no collapse of the bridge.

Lorraine Barlow, who lives on a boat called The Singing Kettle and was moored near the site, said: “At around 04:20 this morning I could feel something was wrong, there seemed to be a current coming from under the boat, and bubbling up, it sounded really unusual.

“Then I leaned toward the center of the channel and felt the ropes tighten.”

He said he left the ship and could see firefighters and search and rescue teams.

“There was no water in the canal,” he said.

“I was worried about the ropes and because my canal boat was hanging there.

“It’s a terrible thing, I was worried about the other people.”