Passengers Injured as Thames Cruiser Collides with Bridge

Lifeboat crew members from the RNLI’s Tower lifeboat station have treated a woman with a head wound and others after a River Thames city cruiser collided with Tower Bridge.

The lifeboat crew, based below Waterloo Bridge, were tasked by London Coastguard on Wednesday after the City Cruises vessel Millennium Diamond was involved in the collision.

The most severe injury was the woman, aged 65, who is believed to have fallen down a set of steel steps, sustaining a head injury and bruises to her ribs. The lifeboat crew were the first on scene and treated the woman’s head wound until London Ambulance Service paramedics arrived and took her away for further treatment.

Kevin Maynard, one of the four Tower RNLI lifeboat crew members on the lifeboat, explained how the drama unfolded:

"We launched just after midday and when we arrived the boat had come alongside St Katherine’s Pier by Tower Bridge. We understand the woman had been standing at the top of some steel steps when the collision happened and the impact knocked her down.

Although the original call to us was related to that one lady, while we were on scene a further nine people came forward to say they had been injured. We treated the woman by giving her oxygen and using blankets to keep her warm, as well as dressing her wound and placing her on a board to protect her spine. We looked after her until London Ambulance Service arrived to take her away for further assessment."

The crew remained on scene to assist where necessary and were stood down by London Coastguard at  1.50pm.

Authorities are investigating what caused the collision.