Three Metropolitan Police officers were thrown into the River Thames after a police boat carrying armed officers crashed into Westminster Bridge on Friday afternoon, leaving five injured.
The boat, from the Met’s marine policing unit, was responding to a report of a person in the water near Battersea when it struck the bridge at about 3:40pm. The impact sent three officers into the water, where they were quickly rescued by those on nearby boats.
“Four Metropolitan Police officers remain in hospital after a police boat crashed into Westminster Bridge, throwing three into the Thames.”
Four officers remain in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while a fifth was discharged shortly after being treated at the scene. No members of the public were injured.
Commander Nick John thanked “river users who came to the aid of the officers” and praised the “quick-thinking and professionalism of all those involved”, saying it “undoubtedly prevented any further injuries”.
Eye witness Jim Bagley, visiting from the US, described seeing two police boats coming up the river. “One was an orange boat that went under the bridge… then there was a black boat that came up behind it,” he said. “It looks to me that he got stuck in the wake of the other boat that had just passed through the bridge and slammed into the wall on the opposite side. We heard the explosion… the next thing we saw was three people in the water.”
A large number of police, fire crews and ambulances attended. The bridge was closed to traffic, forcing buses and coaches to reverse and find alternative routes. Thames Clippers warned of possible disruption and three entrances to Westminster Underground station were shut.
The circumstances of the crash are being “thoroughly reviewed”, police said.