On this day in 1989, a total of 51 people died when a pleasure cruiser, packed with young party-goers, and a barge collided on the Thames. The captain and second mate of the barge, the dredger Bowbelle, were arrested.Most of those on board the pleasure cruiser were young people in their 20s.Both vessels were moving down river towards Southwark Bridge in the early hours of Sunday morning when they collided.
The Marchioness's owners said the 90-ton boat was struck a blow from the 2,000-ton dredger which forced it directly into the larger vessels path. They said the Bowbelle then ran right over the cruiser forcing it under water 'like a bicycle being run over by a lorry'. Police commandeered other boats to search for survivors who had been tipped into the river after the collision. Party-goers on other cruisers witnessed the events and some tried to help.
The Bowbelle's skipper, Douglas Henderson, was acquitted after atrial in 1991. In April 1995 a jury returned verdicts of unlawful killings in inquests held for those who drowned.
The families of the victims campaigned more than 10 years for a public inquiry which began in 2000. The report published in 2001 criticised Douglas Henderson for failing to set up a proper lookout.
Later that year the Maritime and Coastguard agency ruled Mr Henderson could keep his master's certificate.
In 2002 the first River Thames lifeboat rescue service was started in response to one of the report's recommendations.
