“There was the sound of a lot of water,” said 75-year-old boater Bob Wood, as a 50‑metre sinkhole ripped open the Llangollen Canal at Whitchurch before dawn on Monday. Fire control logged the first call at 4:22am and a major incident was declared. Police later confirmed no injuries.

Three boats were caught in the cavity, with one resting on the canal bed and others left at the edge. Crews from Whitchurch, Prees, Shrewsbury, Newport, Albrighton and Telford helped more than ten people to safety; around twelve residents from nearby moorings were moved to a welfare centre at the former Whitchurch Police Station. By 8:30am, firefighters had reduced the water flow and stood down search-and-rescue operations, though multi‑agency teams remained at the scene.

Police urged people to stay away from the Chemistry area of town, including Whitchurch Marina, while firefighters set upstream and downstream safety sectors and used barge boards and water gates to control fast‑moving water.

The Canal & River Trust says it has dammed off the breached section near New Mills Lift Bridge and closed the towpath. An emergency navigation closure is in place between Grindley Brook Lock 6 and Whitchurch Bypass Bridge 31A while engineers investigate.

Images from the scene show the canal drained and at least two narrowboats swallowed by the hole, with another left teetering on the lip. Land next to the waterway has been flooded and the cordon remains in place as assessments continue.

This isn’t just a local towpath: the Llangollen Canal is part of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct World Heritage site and a mainstay for winter walkers and year‑round boat hire across Shropshire, Cheshire and North Wales. The Canal & River Trust says the site attracts around 500,000 visitors a year.

The incident lands amid wider warnings about waterway resilience. The Inland Waterways Association says three‑quarters of Britain’s navigable waterways face financial insecurity and almost all brace for heavier winter rainfall; earlier this year the Bridgewater Canal suffered an embankment collapse on New Year’s Day.

Shropshire’s Tactical Co‑ordination Group remains on site with the Environment Agency and the Canal & River Trust. The Trust says it will work to restore water levels on either side of the breach and will update boaters via stoppage notices. The public advice is unchanged: avoid the area until the cordon lifts.