Man dies after boat sinks in canal

A badly run down narrowboat, which is partially covered in algae or moss is listing slightly at the side of a canal.

The incident happened on the Oxford canal in the Summertown area of the city

Martin Eastaugh
BBC News, Oxford

A man in his 70s has died after a boat sank on a canal.

Thames Valley Police said it attended a fear for safety incident in the Summertown area of Oxford on Tuesday and found a boat had sunk in the water.

Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service was called to an incident at the canal near Elizabeth Jennings Way at about 09:00 GMT.

The man was taken to hospital for treatment but police said he "sadly died" and his next of kin have been informed.

Arranged on the wooden jetty to the narrowboat are four tea lights in jam jars, a small bunch of daffodils and some drawings.

Tributes have been left on the jetty next to the boat.

Four fire engines and a hazardous materials vehicle attended the incident.

Police believe it to be an isolated incident and will prepare a file for the coroner.

A badly run down narrowboat is covered in moss. It is listing slightly alongside the towpath and a white plastic tap has been tied between metal stakes to cordon-off the boat from the towpath.

The boat has been cordoned off from the towpath.

Get in touch

Do you have a story BBC Oxfordshire should cover?

Contact form

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.

Related topics

Related Links