Brave passersby in Petersham helped the Teddington RNLI rescue nine people who lost use of the engine on their 28ft motorboat yesterday afternoon.
The alert was raised at 12.45pm when the motorboat was drifting rapidly downstream towards Richmond and four members from Teddington RNLI lifeboat station saved them.
The RNLI crew tried to pull the boat alongside a pontoon by hand but the current, which was five knots, was too strong and the anchor of the boat would not hold.
The boat had drifted from Eel Pie Island down to Petersham Terrace Gardens near the canoe club and nearly careered into moored boats about 30ft downstream.
Rescuers Dan Crosby, Matt Allchurch and Angus Prentice checked everyone on board the boat was wearing life jackets and was calm.
An RNLI spokesman said: “The rescued passengers on board the motor boat were on a team building exercise but had run out of fuel. The Thames is on red boards and the Environment Agency advises against anyone using the river. They were extremely relieved to be ashore and safe.”
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