In the early hours of December 22, 2025, the tranquil waterways of Whitchurch, Shropshire, were shattered by a dramatic and rare disaster: a massive sinkhole, roughly 50 by 50 meters in size, suddenly opened beneath the Llangollen Canal, swallowing two narrowboats and leaving a third teetering perilously on the edge. The incident, which unfolded in the Chemistry area of the historic market town near the Welsh border, prompted emergency services to declare a major incident and sparked a complex, multi-agency rescue operation that would grip the local community for days.
According to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, the alarm was raised at 5:17 a.m. after residents and boaters reported the canal embankment collapsing and millions of gallons of water gushing onto a nearby farmer’s field. Footage captured by stunned bystanders showed the moment a canal boat tipped over the sinkhole’s edge, its hull audibly cracking before it disappeared into the chasm. As the water drained from the canal, two boats were left stranded in deep mud at the bottom, while another hung precariously over the newly formed abyss.
For the residents aboard these boats, the event was nothing short of terrifying. Bob Wood, a 75-year-old canal boat resident, recounted his narrow escape to the Daily Mail: “I was in the boat asleep and I thought I needed to go to the toilet so I got up and thought ‘we are leaning a bit’. I opened the back door to see why we were tilting and realised it was not raining at all and it was the water running away under the boat. I jumped on the back and stepped off and that bit was going down at that second. The back went eight foot in the air and I landed on my front.”
Wood’s quick thinking didn’t just save his own life. He immediately alerted the occupants of the boat next to him, hammering on their door to wake them. “He got out really quickly and his boat went down as well. My boat went nose down and his went stern first,” Wood explained. He described the chaos of the moment: “All I could hear was rushing water.”
Paul Stowe, another boat owner, found himself and his family in a similarly harrowing situation. As he told the BBC, he woke barefoot in the early morning to the sound of water “equivalent to the Niagara Falls.” Stowe, his wife, son, and two cats escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs, leaving behind all their possessions. “I’m not sure I’ll ever moor in this area again, I’m not sure I’ll ever moor on an embankment again,” Stowe admitted. “I’ll be honest with you, it’s very debatable [that] I’ll ever want to go on a boat again.”
Emergency services from across the region responded swiftly. Firefighters, police, ambulance crews, the Canal & River Trust, the Environment Agency, and local authority emergency planners all converged on the scene. Rescue teams worked in challenging conditions, battling unstable ground and rapidly moving water to bring more than a dozen boaters to safety. Fourteen members of the public were evacuated from their boats and relocated to a welfare center at the former Whitchurch Police Station, according to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service. Miraculously, no injuries or casualties were reported—a fact that Councillor Sho Abdul described as “an absolute miracle.”
The rescue operation was not without its complications. The canal section was quickly dammed off by the Canal and River Trust to prevent further flooding, and temporary closures were put in place, impacting other boaters and local traffic. Specialist teams used winches, cranes, and carefully placed supports to stabilize the boats and, in a tense late-night operation on December 23, successfully pulled Stowe’s boat, the Pacemaker, to safety. Shropshire Council stated, “Once in location, the winch was able to haul the boat along the drained canal away from the breach hole. The boat is now safely located next to the lift bridge,” with plans to refloat it in the new year once a new dam is constructed beyond the boat.
As water levels were gradually restored by pumping water into dammed sections, other boats near the breach began to refloat, offering a glimmer of hope for the affected community. Campbell Robb, chief executive of the Canal and River Trust, acknowledged the rarity and complexity of such breaches, telling the BBC, “Breaches of this scale are relatively rare, but, when they do occur, they’re expensive and complicated to fix.” Repairs to the canal are expected to take months, with investigations into the cause of the collapse continuing into the new year.
Experts offered insight into the geological forces at play. Dr. Jonathan Paul, Associate Professor in Earth Science at Royal Holloway, University of London, explained to the Daily Mail: “Sinkholes form where water percolates through permeable and soluble rock like limestone, slowly dissolving it. Over time, large cavities in the sub-surface may be created, which might eventually cave in to form the sinkhole. It is very tough to predict to a reasonable degree of accuracy where and when sinkholes might form.”
The incident has thrown a spotlight on the risks and rewards of canal living. While life on the water offers tranquility and a sense of community, it also comes with unique dangers, as this episode starkly illustrates. Authorities regularly implement safety measures—such as routine inspections, dredging, and publicized guidelines for navigation—to minimize risks. Emergency protocols are in place to ensure rapid response to accidents, and the local community’s engagement proved invaluable throughout the ordeal.
Community support for affected families was strong. Neighbors and fellow boaters offered practical help and comfort, reinforcing the close-knit bonds typical of canal communities. Councillor Andy Hall, representing Whitchurch North, emphasized the importance of looking after the displaced residents: “It is Christmas, so all their belongings, their life is there and our duty is we have to put our arm around them and look after them at this time of year. That is our priority.”
As the initial emergency response winds down, attention now turns to the long-term recovery. Damaged boats will be thoroughly inspected and repaired before being refloated, and the costly process of rebuilding and reinstating the canal infrastructure will get underway. The Canal and River Trust has pledged to provide regular updates to the local and boating communities as investigations continue and repairs progress.
For Whitchurch and its waterways, the events of December 22 will not soon be forgotten. The disaster has tested the resilience of residents and responders alike, but it has also showcased the power of community, the importance of robust safety measures, and the enduring appeal—and peril—of life on England’s historic canals.
