Thames River drama as floating restaurant sinks

A floating restaurant was nearly dragged down to the murky depths of the Thames after a pontoon to which it was moored failed in southwest London.

The Boat restaurant in Richmond, along with several other vessels tied to the pontoon, were submerged in the incident in the early hours of this morning (Friday).

Nobody was injured said rescue crews from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), which arrived at the scene first.

"'It was mayhem," said RNLI crew member James Kavanagh. "The river was littered with floating debris and owners of the rowing boats tethered to the pontoon were frantically trying to salvage as much as they could.

"The pontoon had failed and any vessel moored with decent rope was quickly being dragged under. As the tide rose, the stern of The Boat restaurant became fully submerged."

The Fire Brigade was called was called to the incident but no action was taken. RNLI crews stayed at the scene until 04.30am retrieving debris from the water.