In what can only be described as horrifying and tragic, a woman was crushed to death after falling overboard. The woman was on a boating trip in England when she fell overboard and got crushed against the canal by a boat.
78-year-old Margaret Billings, a retired pharmacist from Wales, went on a boating trip with her friends and family. Unfortunately, she went overboard near the town of Devizes, becoming trapped between the boat and the canal. Sadly, she died from her injuries at the scene. Authorities labeled the incident a tragic accident at the canal.
In a statement to This Is Wiltshire, the woman's husband Michael Billings shared a statement about the tragedy at the canal. He said that the two were in a boat along the Kennet and Avon Canal. That's when she slipped and fell.
Woman Crushed Against Canal
"I began to bring the back end [of the boat] in. Margaret was standing approximately 3 feet away from me on the outside of the boat," Mr Billings said. "The boat was coming in nicely at the back and I recall telling her to wait as it appeared she was going to step off. There was no need for her to do this as I was bringing the boat in closer to the bank."
He heard his wife fall overboard. "The next thing I heard was a cry and I saw a splash in the water. I did not see her leave contact with the boat and didn't know what was going on," he added.
Sadly, the woman misjudged her jump and fell into the water. Her husband was helpless to get the boat away from the canal.
"The boat weighed about 20 tons, and I could see it crushing the life out of Margaret," Billings also said.
"In circumstances that remain unclear, Margaret left the boat and was in the water between the boat and the bank with the distance between the two rapidly diminishing," area coroner Ian Singleton stated, according to This Is Wiltshire.
"Margaret was caught between the canal boat and the bank, which caused extensive injuries to her chest and head," he also continued. "Margaret was pulled from the water and despite the efforts of paramedics was pronounced dead at the scene."
