Passengers tell of their terror after ferry nearly collides with gas tanker on the River Mersey

Oct 28 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

Photo taken on board the Royal Daffodil, showing a near-miss with the gas tanker Ramira in the River Mersey Photo from ferry passenger Mike Wetton 300

THESE photos shows the dramatic moment a packed ferry nearly collided with a gas tanker on the River Mersey.

Passengers said they thought they were seconds from death as the Friday afternoon sightseeing trip turned to terror.

Around 450 people were on board the Royal Daffodil, which had just left Woodside ferry terminal to view HMS Illustrious.

Mike Wetton, of Marple near Stockport, took one of the pictures from the top deck of the ferry as it appeared to come within feet of disaster.

Teaching assistant Mr Wetton, who was on board with friend Pete Holmes, said passengers were “stunned into silence”.

The 55-year-old said: “All we could see was the tanker Ramira getting nearer and nearer. People were very upset. I thought ‘I’m going to go in’ so I took my rucksack off my back.

“When they both took evasive action, everyone went silent and you could have heard a pin drop. It was a very narrow escape.”