Four Officers Seriously Injured in Westminster Bridge Police Boat Crash

Five Metropolitan Police officers were taken to hospital after the Marine Policing Unit vessel struck Westminster Bridge. The force has not issued a newer public update on their condition or confirmed what caused the collision.

The cause of the Westminster Bridge police boat crash remains unconfirmed one week after five officers were injured and three were thrown into the River Thames.

The Metropolitan Police’s latest public update, issued on Friday, 24 July, said four officers remained in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. A fifth officer had been discharged. As of Saturday, 1 August, no subsequent condition update was listed in the force’s public news archive.

The collision happened at about 3.40pm as the Marine Policing Unit vessel responded to a report of a person in the water near Battersea, south-west London.

Three officers were thrown from the boat by the impact. People aboard nearby vessels helped pull them from the water before the casualties were treated at the scene and taken to hospital. No members of the public were involved or injured, according to the Met.

Commander Nick John said the force would support the injured officers as they recovered. He also thanked the river users and emergency workers who came to their aid, saying their quick response and professionalism had prevented further injuries.

Footage does not establish the cause

Video published after the incident appears to show an orange emergency vessel travelling through Westminster Bridge shortly before the black police rigid inflatable boat approaches the same section of the river and strikes the structure.

Witnesses suggested the police vessel may have been affected by the wake left by the first boat. Jim Bagley, an American visitor waiting for a river cruise, said he heard a loud impact before seeing three people in the water, although he did not witness the collision itself.

The footage and witness accounts do not establish why the police boat changed direction or whether its movement was caused by another vessel’s wake, the river conditions, a navigational decision, a mechanical problem or a combination of factors.

The Met has said only that the circumstances will be “thoroughly reviewed”. It has not publicly announced a conclusion, identified the body leading the review or provided a timetable for its findings.

Reports presenting the wake as the confirmed cause therefore go beyond the information released by investigators.

Emergency response disrupted central London transport

HM Coastguard said it was alerted at about 3.45pm to reports of people in the water following a vessel collision. Marine police units and the Tower RNLI lifeboat attended alongside ambulance crews, with everyone involved later rescued and accounted for.

London Fire Brigade was called at 3.58pm and deployed its fire boat and three specialist fire-rescue units equipped for water incidents. Police officers, paramedics and other emergency crews gathered around Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment and the approaches to the bridge.

Westminster Bridge was temporarily closed to vehicles and pedestrians while casualties were treated and the damaged vessel was recovered. Exits at Westminster Underground station were also shut, Westminster Pier closed temporarily and some river services were disrupted.

The police boat was later towed away by a larger London Fire Brigade vessel.

The emergency operation and temporary transport restrictions have ended. The outstanding questions are how the police vessel came to strike the bridge during an emergency response, whether procedures or equipment contributed to the collision and whether any operational or navigational changes will follow.

Until the Met publishes its review or a further statement, the cause of the crash and the officers’ current conditions remain publicly unconfirmed.