Dundee’s famous Frigate Unicorn dramatically dropped to the harbour floor when water leaked out of Victoria Dock in a night-time emergency.
The historic wooden warship and 20 people on board who had to be evacuated have survived unscathed to tell the tale. The North Carr lightship, berthed alongside, suffered the same fate and also recovered.
The alarming episode saw the famous wooden warship launched nearly 190 years ago and her 80-year-old neighbour drop to the bottom of Victoria Dock about 8.30pm on Wednesday.
In a technical failure, the Camperdown Dock sea gate could not be fully closed and water rushed through it from Victoria Dock into the River Tay.
With Victoria Dock emptying, the two ships plummeted about eight feet to rest on the muddy harbour floor and remained grounded for more than three hours.
Harbour workers raced to the scene and managed to close the gate. They allowed water to pour back into the dock and the ships rose to return to original levels after midnight.
A Scottish country dance class was on board the Unicorn when the ship started to go down.
