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Dunkirk little ship damaged in a fire on the Dart Estuary Old pleasure boat damaged in a fire on the Dart Estuary
(about 4 hours later)
A boat which took part in the rescue of thousands of soldiers from Dunkirk in World War II has been damaged in a fire. A pleasure boat built nearly 70 years ago has been damaged in a fire on an estuary in Devon.
Firefighters in Devon spent the night tackling the fire on the African Queen in the Dart Estuary at Dartmouth. Firefighters spent the night tackling the fire on the African Queen in the Dart Estuary at Dartmouth.
A fire swept through the 51ft (15.5m) charter vessel moored on a pontoon in the middle of the estuary.A fire swept through the 51ft (15.5m) charter vessel moored on a pontoon in the middle of the estuary.
The boat was one of 700 which sailed to Dunkirk to rescue British and French soldiers. Dartmouth fire crews were transported to the fire by the Dartmouth Lower Ferry after being called to the scene at 23.30 GMT.
Coastguard rescue teams, two lifeboats and Dartmouth fire crews were called to the scene at about 23:30 GMT. Rob Giles, Dartmouth's harbourmaster, said: "[The fire] was pretty nasty and after about an hour-and-a-half of fighting the fire, it kept re-igniting. It had 700 litres of diesel on board and it's a wooden vessel.
Dartmouth fire crews were transported to the fire by the Dartmouth Lower Ferry.
Rob Giles, Dartmouth's harbourmaster, said: "The African Queen is an historic vessel. It was one of the Dunkirk little ships that rescued our armed forces in World War II.
"[The fire] was pretty nasty and after about an hour-and-a-half of fighting the fire, it kept re-igniting. It had 700 litres of diesel of board and it's a wooden vessel.
"We have since dipped the tanks. There is no pollution risk and nobody was hurt.""We have since dipped the tanks. There is no pollution risk and nobody was hurt."
The little ships of Dunkirk were private boats which sailed to Dunkirk in 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, to rescue soldiers who were trapped on the beaches. • This story was amended on 11/03/14 after an earlier version incorrectly reported that the ship took part in the Dunkirk evacuation during World War Two.