Tower Lifeboat Station, lifeboat pier on the River Thames in London
Tower Lifeboat Station is a rescue station on the Thames in the City of Westminster, located under Waterloo Bridge on the north side of the river. It operates special orange speedboats and covers about 16 miles of the central river section, from Barking Creek to Battersea, with a team of full-time staff and over 50 volunteers.
The station was established following a tragedy in 1989 when the pleasure cruiser Marchioness collided with a dredger, killing 50 people. After this disaster, relatives of the victims campaigned for better safety measures, leading to the creation of the RNLI river rescue service in 2002.
The station keeps its 'Tower' name to honor its original location at Tower Pier, though it now operates from a different site. The bright orange rescue boats are a familiar sight to Londoners and visitors along the Thames, representing safety and constant readiness on the river.
The station is located under Waterloo Bridge on the Thames and is easy to spot from the bank, especially because of the orange rescue boats. Visitors can observe the boats from the pier, though the river is very busy here with constant traffic, so it's important to stay aware of your footing and water safety.
The crew must launch its rescue boats within 90 seconds of receiving a call in order to respond quickly. This extremely short reaction time allows them to help people in distress on the busy river more efficiently.
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