UPDATED The swiftly rising tide at Putney Embankment causes problems around this time every year but usually it’s cars and not people that get stranded.
On Monday afternoon the water stranded two women on one of the benches by the Duke’s Head, sparking an extraordinary response: firefighters wading in and lifting them over the railings to a waiting RNLI lifeboat.
A reader sent us photographs and a short video of the rescue. They show two firefighters in full kit standing in the flood, a bench in the water like a small island, and an orange lifeboat waiting on the far side of the railings. In one photograph a firefighter lifts a woman over the railings to the boat’s crew.
We’ve all got our feet wet at some point on the Embankment. The question this time is why the two women did not simply get up and walk away. The tide can come in faster than people expect, but you do have to wonder whether firefighters and a lifeboat to get two people off a bench is the most efficient use of resources.
The official advice is not to wade through flood waters. The Environment Agency’s flood alerts for the riverside this week told people to “avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water”.
Government guidance says why: the water can hide wreckage, uneven pavements and broken drain or manhole covers, and it may contain sewage. It can also be much deeper than it looks, which may be why crews would rather come than wait to find out.
It is not the first time the tide has caught someone out here. Last year a silver SUV that sat on the slipway near the rowing clubs was swamped by the incoming tide, and the RNLI helped pull it out. Autumn and winter bring the tidal Thames its highest tides.
The London Fire Brigade said it was called at 3.54pm on Monday. “Two women had become stranded on the embankment by the rising tide and were brought to safety by the RNLI,” a spokesperson said. Its crews were finished by 4.15pm, 21 minutes after the call. The RNLI has not yet responded.
Flood alerts for the riverside can be checked on the government’s Check for flooding service, or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. For an emergency on the Thames, the RNLI says to dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Update, 9.45am: London Fire Brigade’s statement added.
Expecting to see two vulnerable and likely eldery people somehow stranded, these two certainly look able to take action for themselves. It will be interesing if you get a LFB/RNLI response. I know not all disabilitie are visible.
Those women should have e to pay the cost of that rescue. They probably didn’t want to ruin their shoes.
I have seen some stupid behaviour in my time, but this beats all.