11 June 2023 , 10:13
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Photos reveal the inside of an abandoned floating restaurant in Essex that began sinking while staff were preparing to open for lunch.
The Miller and Carter Steakhouse, on a converted paddle steamer at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, was closed on December 23 last year after taking on water.
Horrified Christmas shoppers compared seeing the steamer go down to watching the Titanic sink. Everyone onboard escaped unharmed but the eatery was shut "until further notice due to structural issues".
Today it remains out of remains out of action, and continues to sit tilting in the lake, partially submerged.
But people have been given a sneak peak inside, after an urban explorer visited the eatery and found tubs of rotting food, an abandoned kitchen, and items floating in the water.
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The tables at the sunken restaurant are still laid ready for lunch (Urban Banana)The explorer - who calls himself Urban Banana - also discovered drinks fridges still stocked, boxes of items left in the kitchen, and a cluttered office.
He described his visit to the half-sunk restaurant earlier this year as "very unique" having also been to nuclear bunkers, train yards, factories and mansions. He told Essex Live: "A family member sent me a news article about the sunken ship days after it had been reported.
"I immediately wanted to explore the ship but I was out of the country in a three month urbex [urban exploring] mission around Europe. The thought of exploring a partially submerged restaurant filled me with excitement."
The urban explorer, known as Urban Banana, while on the converted paddle steamer (Urban Banana)Pictures shared with EssexLive show the restaurant having been barely touched since the incident occured as tables remain set for customers with cutlery, napkins, menus and wine glasses still in place.
No-one was injured during the initial sinking incident as everyone onboard was safely evacuated. Speaking previously, the director of the shopping centre said the restaurant was to remain in the water until it comes to rest.
"We're allowing it to take it's natural course and once it's done that we will do what is required to deal with the situation at hand," they said.
The abandoned fridge is still stocked with drinks, including wine (Urban Banana)Meanwhile another urban explorer shared photos of abandoned vintage cars discovered inside a Japanese town that's remained empty after a huge nuclear disaster in 2011.
The Fukushima exclusion zone became home to thousands of abandoned cars after the nuclear fallout in 2011 - one of the most well-known disasters in human history that saw over 160,000 people forced to evacuate the area.
Christmas decorations can be seen in the photos (Urban Banana)On March 11, 2011, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan shook the country for six minutes, killing nearly 20,000 people and devastating communities.
Reactors close to the earthquake, including those operating at Fukushima Daiichi, shut down, and due to insufficient sea defences, the plant's backup generators, meant to pump cooling water through the reactor, were destroyed by the 15-metre tsunami.
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