Canal workers begin 'huge and likely lengthy task' of Whitchurch repairs after massive collapse
Workers have begun the daunting task of repairing a destroyed section of canal in a Shropshire town.
Repairs to the devastated Whitchurch section of the Llangollen Canal will be a "huge and likely lengthy" task, the canals custodian has admitted.
The comments come from the Canal & River Trust as it faces up to the scale of the repairs required.
A scene of shocking devastation unfolded on the waterway in Whitchurch in the early hours of Monday.
A section of the canal in the Chemistry area of the town collapsed, creating a huge hole that swallowed two narrowboats and left another teetering on the edge.
A nearby field was flooded with 100 million gallons of water, while earth from the canal was washed away.
Incredibly no one was hurt, but the site will require major repairs - with the matter complicated by the logistics of removing the boats stranded in the hole, as well as others which were beached in the nearby stretch of waterway, due to water pouring out of the canal.
The Canal & River Trust has spoken of its sadness at the incident, and the direct impact on the boaters whose barges were affected.
In a statement it said that there are six beached boats near to the breach site - with planning under way for how to get those afloat in the coming days.
The trust said: "The incident has been highly distressing for the owners of boats on the stretch of canal with footage online showing the situation unfolding. Heartbreakingly, two boats were washed into the breach hole and there are a further two right next to the hole.
"There are a further six boats away from the breach site which are currently not in water, but we are hoping to get those back afloat in the coming days."
The trust added that there would now be a focus on what caused the failure - and the "lengthy" task of rebuilding.
It said: "The embankment has been subject to our regular inspection regime by our specialist inspectors and engineers, as we do routinely for all our assets.
"Our charity needs to understand exactly what caused the canal embankment to be undermined and breach in this way alongside the huge and likely lengthy task of rebuilding and then reopening the canal.
"Although the canal network is very old, breaches of this scale are relatively rare."
