5 October 2011 Last updated at 16:43 ET

Thames riverboat crashes into Tower Millennium Pier

Four people have been taken to hospital with minor injuries after a Thames riverboat crashed into a pier.

More than 50 people were on board the catamaran when it hit the Tower Millennium Pier at about 19:00 BST.

A lifeboat crew stationed on the river reached the vessel and gave first aid to 14 injured people before ambulances arrived.

Police said a "small number of passengers" were treated at the scene but did not need hospital treatment.

Martin Garside, from the Port of London Authority (PLA), said: "One of the clipper boats, the Moon Clipper, has made contact with Tower Pier."

He added: "There were no other vessels involved and the vessel did not sink."

The PLA said 57 people, including four crew, were on the passenger ferry when it hit the pier on the north side of the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

It said no one on the pier was injured.

The Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit has begun an investigation in conjunction with the PLA and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).