Barge Collides with Hammersmith Bridge

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Chiswick lifeboat first on scene to rescue injured man

Chiswick lifeboat came to the rescue of an injured man on Friday afternoon after a Dutch barge was involved in a dramatic collision with Hammersmith Bridge.

The barge, which was sailing upstream, reached Hammersmith Bridge close to the top of a high spring tide at 4pm. 

The skipper had misjudged the clearance of the bridge at high water and was unable to stop.  The barge careered into the bridge, ripping off its wheelhouse. 

The skipper, who was the only one of the crew of four left in the wheelhouse, received a head injury, and   when the lifeboat arrived the man was bleeding profusely, with a towel wrapped round his head saturated with blood. 

The lifeboat crew applied first aid and transferred the injured man to the lifeboat and then to an ambulance onshore.  By this time, a police boat and the Fireboat had also arrived.  The Police Boat towed the damaged vessel to Chiswick Pier.  As a precaution, Hammersmith Bridge was closed to traffic until the damage could be assessed.

The injured man was later discharged from hospital and on Saturday morning was back with his companions seeing if they could resume their journey.  It appears that none of the mechanical parts of the vessel were damaged, but it now has an open wheelhouse.

Chiswick RNLI lifeboat, one of four lifeboat stations on the Thames, became operational on January 2 2002 and since then it has responded to over 1,300 emergency calls.

August 22, 2009