Watch: Suez Canal scenes in Falkirk after boat spotted blocking busy road

They may be thousands of miles apart, but Falkirk in Scotland had its own equivalent of Egypt’s Suez Canal fiasco after a boat was spotted blocking a busy road. And it was no April fool.

Shortly after 3pm this afternoon, a vehicle towing the vessel – a small speed boat – broke down in the Scottish town blocking a lane at the busy Rosebank roundabout.

A video taken of the incident shows the boat stranded in the middle of the road as motorists are forced to reduce their speed and drive carefully around it.

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Officers were called to the scene and a rescue plan was arranged for the vessel.

Falkirk's own blocked Suez Canal incident at Rosebank roundabout where a boat has run aground blocking a lane picture: Michael GillenFalkirk's own blocked Suez Canal incident at Rosebank roundabout where a boat has run aground blocking a lane picture: Michael Gillen
Falkirk's own blocked Suez Canal incident at Rosebank roundabout where a boat has run aground blocking a lane picture: Michael Gillen

A police spokesman said: "We were made aware of a broken down vehicle towing a boat blocking a lane at the Rosebank Roundabout in Falkirk shortly after 3.15pm.

"Recovery has been arranged for the vehicle."

On Tuesday this week traffic finally resumed in the Suez Canal after a stranded container ship blocking it for nearly a week was finally freed by salvage crews.

The grounding of the 400m (1,300ft) boat – called Ever Given – is under investigation since the ship was finally dislodged on Monday after being grounded in the canal – one of the world’s most crucial trade routes – for six days.

Helped by the peak of high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the sandy back of the crucial waterway, where it had been firmly lodged since last week.

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