In the wee hours of the morning a couple of us launched an 8.5m Greenpeace RIB from a slip down by Putney Bridge. Crawling up the river at a leisurely pace, with few stops to get the timing right, we acquired a climb team from the side of Tate Britain pier. Speeding past two police launches, having an early morning brew, with a wave we slammed the climb team into a barge just off the House of Parliament.
And then things went a little tits up?
With the camera man stretching higher to get a better picture angle a police RIB bore down us. As we turned he fell badly on his ankle breaking/shattering the bone. In an attempt to keep him out of police hands we sped back to Putney and an ambulance as he screamed with every bounce of the boat. Back at the slip his injuries proved disabling and so both we and the police waited for the ambulance together.
An unfortunate accident, and a baleful reminder that although Trident and Britain’s Weapons of Mass Destruction are lethal, fast RIB’s on the Thames can be dangerous too.
[3022]
You Tube footage is here
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