Police and an ambulance are on the scene of the Cowes floating bridge, after an incident this evening.
An eyewitness told OnTheWight that car which was going down the ramp towards the floating bridge on the East Cowes side accelerated, smashed onto the floating bridge, raced along to the other end and rammed into the gates at the far end.
He said,
“As he went down the ramp, he accelerated hard and continued until he hit the far barrier.”
Urgent medical attention
OnTheWight has been told that someone is receiving urgent medical attention and appears to be trapped between the car and the gate at the far end of the bridge.
Police are on the scene and an ambulance has just arrived.
Never seen before
Allan Marsh who lives nearby told OnTheWight it was the first time in 18 years that he has seen something like this.
There are CCTV cameras are on the bridge, which will provide evidence of what happened.
Update from the council
Just after 7pm this evening, The Isle of Wight council tweeted that the bridge was suspended.
Cowes Floating Bridge is currently suspended until further notice. This is due to the vessel being damaged by a vehicle that drove into it.
— IOW Council Official (@iwight) August 7, 2015
Our thoughts are with the trapped person, who we hope has not suffered any serious injuries.
Update Saturday
The Isle of Wight council advised at midnight,
Please be advised that foot passenger water taxi services will operate between Cowes and East Cowes from 7am tomorrow until midnight, while the floating bridge is currently out of service.
The trapped man, now identified as one of those working on the floating bridge, was taken to hospital for head and leg injuries, which although serious were not thought to be life threatening.
Article updates
7.15pm Added tweet from IWC. Saturday: Updates from IWC added
Image: © With kind permission of Allan Marsh
