BMW swept into River Thames by tide sinks as it drifts away
- 8 years ago
Footage shows the moment a BMW car was swept away in the River Thames, sinking slowly as it went, on Wednesday.
The vehicle had reportedly been parked on a slipway leading to the river at Putney Embankment when it was pulled in entirely by the tide.
The filmer, 18-year-old student Ted Stones, wrote online: I was walking down the bank a few hundred metres from the bridge and saw a couple of people and police van. When I got there the water was nearly up to the top of the wheel arches.
"Then after about 5 mins the car slowly became more buoyant before suddenly being lifted enough and started floating away. It was such an odd experience. You hear of cars getting trapped in a bit of water after high tide but never being swept completely away!
"The police had literally no idea what to do and stood there pretty much helpless. They were constantly radio-ing to other polcie/pla but were obviously unable to do much. By the time the PLA got there the trunk was pretty much fully submerged and it did eventually completely sink."
The vehicle had reportedly been parked on a slipway leading to the river at Putney Embankment when it was pulled in entirely by the tide.
The filmer, 18-year-old student Ted Stones, wrote online: I was walking down the bank a few hundred metres from the bridge and saw a couple of people and police van. When I got there the water was nearly up to the top of the wheel arches.
"Then after about 5 mins the car slowly became more buoyant before suddenly being lifted enough and started floating away. It was such an odd experience. You hear of cars getting trapped in a bit of water after high tide but never being swept completely away!
"The police had literally no idea what to do and stood there pretty much helpless. They were constantly radio-ing to other polcie/pla but were obviously unable to do much. By the time the PLA got there the trunk was pretty much fully submerged and it did eventually completely sink."