The Worcester and Birmingham canal is leaking into a disused railway tunnel beneath it at Gas Street.
Also beneath it is a tunnel housing the current main rail line to the south west and fears are that this could be flooded and extend into the platforms of New Street Station, the main station in Birmingham.
Over the weekend of 20-22 February a section of the canal was sealed off with barriers and the water pumped out. When the water level had been reduced to knee depth a rescue operation was carried out for the fish population. Two men used electrodes to create a weak electric pulse which stunned the fish which were then collected by hand-held nets and placed in portable tanks. The tanks were periodically emptied into the canal at the other side of the barriers.
The whole event attracted a number of canal and photography enthusiasts as well as passers-by, as you can imagine.
Now the canal section can be thoroughly drained and investigations into the leak commenced.
Below is a gallery of photos I took over the weekend.
To view photos:
1. View a larger version of a single image in a separate page – Right Click on the image then Left Click on “Open link in new tab” or “Open link in new window”.
Or…
2. Display an enlarged gallery – Left Click on an image – use the large side arrows to move between images – Left Click outside an image or press ESC to close the enlarged gallery
