All chained up!

Have you have seen the chains that loop along the Thames foreshore wall (river side) in central London?

They were put there in the 1990’s after the Marchioness disaster in 1989, when a pleasure steamer; the Marchioness sank after it collided with the dredger; Bowbelle. People from the Marchioness fell into the river, which resulted in 51 drowning.

From the enquiry, it was revealed that people drowned because there was nothing on the embankment wall to hold onto. The chains were installed at approximately 5m intervals and in three rows at different heights are designed to a person to grab hold of if they accidentally fall into the water.