Boaters '˜shaken up' after narrowboat sinks in lock

A family managed to escape their narrowboat after it sunk in a lock on the canal at Boxmoor yesterday afternoon (Monday, April 25).
The stricken canal boat in Boxmoor Lock, Hemel HempsteadThe stricken canal boat in Boxmoor Lock, Hemel Hempstead
The stricken canal boat in Boxmoor Lock, Hemel Hempstead

At around 5pm, the boaters were navigating the Boxmoor Lock on the Grand Union Canal when the back end of the boat got stuck on the lock gate cill, causing the front of the boat to sink.

No one was injured and the passengers were able to escape the boat unharmed.

Workers from the Canal & River Trust – the canal version of the emergency services – liaised with the family to recover their boat, which is their home.

The lock is now open again.

Ian Final, from the Canal & River Trust, said: “This must have been a really scary situation and one that could so easily have had a tragic outcome.

“Thankfully the experienced boaters are unhurt but are understandably shook up by the incident.

“Having your boat caught up on the cill is every boater’s worst nightmare but thankfully situations like this are still rare on the canal.”

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