The following is a list of notable accidents on the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and Severn Estuary, which runs through England and Wales. The river is the longest river in Britain and at its mouth has the second highest rise and fall of tide in the world.

17th century

*30 January 1607, Bristol Channel floods, 1607 – the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

and Severn Estuary were devastated by a flood. Long considered as a storm, recent investigations point to a possible

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

18th century

*23 October 1799, the ferry at The Tuckies carrying workers from Coalport China Works capsized and 28 were drowned.

19th century

*6 February 1809, the Newnham on Severn to Arlingham Passage ferryboat sank in full view of people on both banks of the Severn. Two boatmen on board drowned. *1 February 1868, at the bridge over the Severn at Caersws an approach embankment, damaged by flood water, collapsed under a goods train. The driver and fireman were killed.

20th century

*4 August 1919, on this Bank Holiday Monday pleasure boats were taking people on trips between

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and

Stourport Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, a few miles to the south of Kidderminster and downstream on the River Severn from Bewdley. At the 2011 ce ...

. One boat, the ''May Queen'', came downriver passing the Hampstall Ferry, (located between

and

Holt Fleet Ombersley is a village and civil parish in Wychavon district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Holt Fleet, where Telford's 1828 Holt Fleet Bridge crosses the River Severn. The 2011 census recorded a ...

), at speed. The ferryboat lurched and all 17 passengers were tipped into the river. Some witnesses said the ferry was overloaded. Nine people were drowned. *4 February 1939, three tanker barges overturned in the estuary off

Sharpness Sharpness ( ) is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream ( typical sp ...

. They were taken with the tide into the piers of the Severn Railway Bridge. Of the eight man crew, six men were killed *3 April 1947, a British ship, the 1,580 ton ''Stancliffe'', went aground off

loaded with 3,000 tons of timber. Local shipyard engineer, Ivor Langford, managed to cut the vessel in two and sail both parts down to Cardiff Docks. There the two halves were joined together and the ship sailed again under the new name of . *23 March 1951, a large 4,845 ton Egyptian registered ship was bound for

loaded with 7,000 tons of maize from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

when she ran aground on Lydney Sands. Unable to float her off, the cargo had to be unloaded out in the estuary into smaller craft. Eventually she became a total loss. The wreck can be seen occasionally above the mud at low water. *4 February, 1954, a

Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved sus ...

G-ALRX prototype plane was forced to land in the River Serven Mudflats with retracted gear. Engine 3 on plane exploded during flight. The plane could not return to Filton and had to make emergency landing. Her crew and passengers escaped harm. The plane was a total lose due to time to recover of 48 hours, salty tidewater covering the fuselage, and stress on fuselage in efforts to pull it to shore. *25 October 1960, two loaded tanker barges, the ''Arkendale H'' and the ''Wastdale H'' were off

when they came together in thick fog. The tide took them into a pier of the Severn Railway Bridge and two spans came crashing down onto the barges. There was an explosion and of the eight man crew, five were killed. *16 February 1961, the Loss of the : The ''BP Explorer'' was loaded and bound for

from

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. As the loaded tanker barge made her way up the Severn Estuary she suddenly turned over. It was not until the following day that the tanker barge was seen bouncing her way, upside down, through the wrecked Severn Railway Bridge. Her crew of five men were killed. The ''BP Explorer'' was salvaged and rebuilt as the ''BP Driver'', but on 31 January 1962 she was driven aground at Nash Point; fortunately her crew were saved. *19 November 1961, during construction of the

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge ( cy, Pont Hafren) is a motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and Wale ...

three men fell into the river. The alarm was raised and a rescue boat crewed by two men set sail from Chepstow. Unknown to the crew of the rescue boat the three men had been picked up safely by the last crossing of the day of one of the Aust to

Beachley Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the rivers Wye and Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge over the ...

ferry boats, the ''Severn Princess''. Two tanker barges were coming down empty from

, the ''Wyesdale H'' and the ''Wharfedale H'', tied together and both being steered from the ''Wyesdale H''. The steersman failed to see the rescue boat, as the boat had no navigation lights, and both barges collided with it. One man was saved, but the other crew member of the rescue boat was drowned. *4 September 1990, three men were working in one of the four maintenance gantries attached to the underside of the

, carrying out routine maintenance work. The gantry gave way plunging the three men into the Severn. Mark Seaton (19), a painter, survived the drop, but Robin Phelps (44) and Eric Sullivan (46) were killed.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em River Severn Severn Severn

Disasters A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

See also

References