Stunned bystanders captured the moment a canal boat dropped into a 160ft sinkhole in Shropshire on Monday (22 December).
Emergency services declared a major incident after receiving reports of a sinkhole opening up in the early hours of the morning, as millions of gallons of water gushed onto a farmer’s field in the Chemistry area of Whitchurch.
Footage filmed moments after the chasm opened shows the boat tipping over the sinkhole’s edge. The hull can be heard cracking before the boat goes under.
Two boats were swallowed up by the sinkhole, while two others teetered on either side.
Over a dozen boaters had to be rescued following the “embankment failure”. There are no reports of casualties, according to police.
