Key Highlights
- There are no reports of casualties, according to West Mercia Police. The force asked people to avoid the area and seek alternate routes. It added that people on other parts of the waterway nearby were being supported by fire crews. The Canal and River Trust described the incident as a breach on 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 more details in due course," it said.
- "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."Shropshire Fire and Rescue ServiceThere were no reports of any casualties, West Mercia Police saidAndy Hall, a councillor in Whitchurch, said the incident unfolded at about 05:00 GMT."We've got two boats at the bottom of the sink hole that have fallen down, and we've got two boats that are teetering on the edge that could go in at any time," he told the BBC."Obviously [the fire service is] going to make those safe."He added: "[People] thought that there was an earthquake."To the right, we've got the field which has taken probably about a million gallons of water out of the canal."He said the fire service had put in a flood gate to stop the flow of more from the compromised waterway."The most important thing is that the canal itself has been secured by fire and rescue," he said.
- "Their biggest worry was that the canal was going to burst even more and flood residents in the town."He said that no one was on board "the two boats that went down", adding that people on the boats "teetering over the edge" had been helped to safety by fire crews. He added that contrary to speculation on social media, there had been no bridge collapse. Lorraine Barlow said she felt "something amiss"Lorraine Barlow, who lives on a boat called The Singing Kettle and was moored near the site, said: "About 04:20 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.
- "Then I was tilting to the middle of the canal, I could feel the ropes were getting tight."She said she left the boat and could see the fire service as well as search and rescue teams."There was no water on the canal," she said.
- "I was worried about the ropes and about my canal boat hanging there."It's an awful thing, I was worried about the other people."Andy HallPolice have asked people to avoid the areaFollow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
