Full emergency response for grounded boat

Published: Monday, 22 November 2021

A NARROWBOAT owner received full emergency response when his boat became grounded on the Rochdale Canal.

He contacted the emergency services and was rewarded with fire engines, water incident unit and a technical response unit to get the crew off the boat to safety, I Dugald Campbell reports.

StuckRochdaleMENInflatable walkway

The firefighters rescued three people from the narrowboat by laying an inflatable walkway from the barge to the towpath and then taking two adults and a child off the boat.

This was by Tesco at Failsworth at Oldham, with the narrowboat becoming grounded as it attempted to negotiate a bend on the waterway in the dark.

The firefighters set up floodlights to illuminate the area then removed the crew. (Image by courtesy of Manchester Evening News.)

Removing crew

The firefighters were only involved in removing the crew from the grounded boat, spending an hour at the site on Friday but there is no information if the boat has being removed.

There have been reports in the past of boats becoming stuck at Failsworth through lack of dredging, but it has been suggested that this boat was brought to a stop by a Tesco trolley!