Canal drained of all its water after sinkhole appears grounding barges

At least 10 people were rescued after a massive ‘sinkhole’ caused a section of canal to be drained of water.

A ‘major incident’ has been declared by police, following the collapse in the Chemistry area of Whitchurch.

Several narrowboats can be seen lying on the mud in Whitchurch Canal where the water has drained completely, with two lying in the hole.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to a landslip and confirmed a canal was affected, with crews called at 4.22am this morning.

West Mercia Police has described the incident as a sinkhole.

A spokesperson for the fire and rescue Service said: ‘Firefighters have been working in challenging conditions with unstable ground and rapidly moving water, crews immediately established upstream and downstream safety sectors and began mitigating water flow using barge boards and water gate systems.’

There are no reports of casualties, and people nearby are being supported by the service, police said.

It asked people to avoid the area and seek alternative routes.

The sinkhole reportedly measures around 50m by 50m.

The Canal and River Trust described the incident as a breach on the canal,the BBC reports, 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.’

Andy Hall, a councillor in Whitchurch, told the BBC people had thought it was an earthquake.

He added: ‘To the right, we’ve got the field which has taken probably about a million gallons of water out of the canal.’

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