Barge capsize horror on Leeds Liverpool canal

10:27am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Chris Gee, Reporter

CAPSIZED The barge CAPSIZED The barge

A CANAL barge capsized and was almost fully submerged, after becoming trapped in a lock on the Leeds Liverpool canal.

The boat, The Aleecia, was travelling from Blackburn towards Chorley when the incident happened at the Top Lock, Wheelton.

Two occupants of the boat were working the lock and a man was onboard at around 4.30pm yesterday.

The man managed to leap to safety before the barge toppled over in the water.

Michael Hanavan, 34, lives on his own boat at the nearby Top Lock Marina.

He said: “I’ve never seen anything like it before on the canal.

“The lock was full and the water was being lowered. There’s a stone sill, like a step, at the back of the lock which is submerged but there are signs saying you must go beyond a certain point to be clear of it.

“It appears to me that the back of the boat has caught on the sill tipping the front forward. It’s filled with water rapidly and turned on its side.

“By the looks of it, it’s going to be here for some time.”

Comments(1)

chris283 says...
4:13pm Thu 2 Aug 12

good job no one was hurt but i wish i had a pound for seeing people with no experience sailing barges with out the skill to control one and why do they always speed up when i am fishing on the canal your not the only people who uses the canal so have consideration for other canal uses

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