Former Crawley model re-lives Thames tragedy
A FORMER model who witnessed more than 50 party-goers die in a terrible river disaster 20 years ago has spoken for the first time of the tragic night.
Princess Goodwin, of Jewel Walk, Bewbush, was supposed to be joining friends and colleagues for a glamorous get-together on board the pleasure boat Marchioness on the River Thames in London on the night of August 20, 1989.
But after being delayed in traffic by a matter of minutes, she instead watched in horror as a huge dredger crushed the boat, sinking it and drowning 51 of the 130 people on board.
"It was so bad that you just sort of blank it out," said Princess, now 51, who had friends who died in the tragedy. "I tried to do that for a long time."
But her memories of the awful night have been reawakened after national media coverage surrounding the 20th anniversary of the disaster – including a BBC documentary screened last week.
The tragedy unfolded when the 2,000 tonne dredger, named the Bowbelle, emerged from the darkness crushing the small boat and forcing it underwater.
Princess had been invited to the party through her boyfriend, also a model, but their taxi to the Thames was delayed and they missed the boat.
For the full story see this week's Crawley Observer.
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Weather for Crawley
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
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