FOUR carers who survived a tragic canal accident in which four others drowned had navigated that stretch of canal many times before.

Police say there was nothing to suggest they were inexperienced in negotiating locks.

And this was backed up by the owner of the boats, who was this week trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

Four Cumbrian people with learning difficulties drowned after their barge sank in the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Priestholme Lock, near Gargrave, on Wednesday afternoon.

They have been named as Peter Burgess, of Dalton-in-Furness, Beverley Wilson, 33, John McHill, 49, and Eric Jones, 43, all from Barrow-in-Furness.

The eight people on board the 40 foot boat, named Drum Major, were on a boating holiday on the canal from the Mill Lane Centre, Walney, in Barrow-in-Furness.

None of those who drowned were wearing life jackets.

The owner of Silsden Boats, where the barges were hired from, believed that those in charge of the craft were experienced.

Richard Bradburn, who runs the boat yard with his wife Barbara, said: "People from the centre have been coming here at least twice a year for many years.

"I know the man and his helpers," he added. "He has travelled this canal more times than I have and used the same boat many times."

Mr Bradburn said boat hirers were always given a least 30 minutes tuition, with a model of a lock used to show them how it worked.

The Herald's reporting team was the first media on the scene as emergency services began the grim task of removing the bodies of those who died and taking survivors to hospital.

Debris from the boat was scattered along the canal, with two boats stuck in the lock side-by-side.

At the scene, David Blackburn, from British Waterways, said: "As far as we could tell, two boats were coming down the lock and as the water level was dropping the bow of one of the boats caught on the lock gate and its back end let in water and it sank."

He added that the alarm was raised by a British Waterways worker patrolling the bank who came across the horrific scene.

A 15-year-old boy on the narrowboat Dan's Drum, which was in the lock at the same time, has been praised for his "superhuman efforts" in trying to save those who died.

The boy, from Nottingham, who has not been named, dived into the lock with his father three times.

Police said the four carers looking after the adults also dived in to try to save the victims.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said three of the victims were dragged to the top of the boat, but could not be resuscitated by paramedics.

Leading firefighter Eddie Atkinson and his colleague Steven Barrett volunteered to plunge into the murky water to rescue the fourth victim who was still in the narrowboat as it went down.

"We couldn't see a thing," he said. "Our idea was to just creep along feeling for anything with our hands and feet and hoping not to have to put our heads under the water.

"We were in there about five minutes and I felt what I thought was some clothing at it turned out to be the poor chap."

Ambulance crews battled for about 30 minutes to save the four disabled people, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Post mortems were carried out yesterday (Thursday) and an inquest into the deaths is expected to be opened and adjourned on Monday.

Officials from Craven District Council, police, and the Health and Safety Executive also began the task of examining the scene for clues as to the cause of the accident.

Yesterday they carried out a reconstruction of the events leading up to the sinking.

Craven District Council's chief executive Gillian Taylor told the Herald: "We are concerned with the health and safety aspect of pleasure cruisers and health and safety inspectors will look at the lock. We are carrying out a joint investigation."

Former lock keeper Donald Pearson, who looked after that stretch of the canal for 18 years, said this was the worst accident he had ever known on the locks.

He added that during his career there had been several incidents where holiday makers had sunk.

"I've come across boats which have sunk before in that lock, but not with any loss of life," he said.

Back in June 1997 the Herald reported on an incident involving a barge called Mirrlees which sank in another lock near Gargrave in similar circumstances.

Four Australian tourists holidaying with Barry and Angela Jackson from York escaped uninjured when the craft was bailed out using pumping equipment.

Mr Jackson has called for more safety training for canal boat holidaymakers.

"I would like to see people warned that most passengers should get off the boat while it is in the lock and certainly should at least be on the deck. It was a very frightening experience," he said.

Experienced cruiser Peter Hatherell, who has been sailing the canals for 30 years, says Wednesday's tragedy was an accident waiting to happen.

"I can recall this happening several times, although not at Gargrave before," he said.

"I don't think people who take out hire boats get enough tuition on locks.

"This has happened to me before. I have been hooked up in a lock, but I know what to look out for."

The mood in Gargrave was sombre yesterday as the village tried to come to terms with the worst boating accident in its history.

District councillor Jean Harrison commented that she and residents in the village were "deeply saddened".

And the vicar of St Andrew's Church, the Rev Martin Bull, said people would be praying for the survivors and the families of those who died.

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